A Catholic priest has rescued a father and son who were struggling to swim at a tourist hotspot in Western Australia's far north.

Last weekend, Father Liam Ryan was out in the water at Cable Beach when he spotted two people struggling to stay afloat.


"I saw a couple of fellows who looked like they were getting pretty close to where a little flash rip was," he said.

"Very quickly, they moved from being in a place where they were comfortable … to being swept off their feet."

Father Ryan paddled over when he yelled out and heard no response.


He said within seconds, one of the "young fellas clambered onto his board" relieved at the sight of help.

"Being in a tourist town, we do get a few people who are not familiar with being around open water," he said.

"[It] can look really calm, but if there's a big tide … one minute you're in the flags, next minute you're on your own."

Bravery award recipient​

While Father Ryan spends much of his time at the Broome Catholic Church, he is equally known in the community for surfing and swimming in the open waters.

The rescue was not his first foray into saving desperate swimmers.

He received an Australian Bravery Award in 2022 for saving someone who was bitten by a great white shark in Bunker Bay in the state's south-west two years prior.


Father Ryan described the situation as similar to his Cable Beach rescue but "a little bit scarier".

"We ended up getting a little bit of a pat on the back. We got the gong from the [government]," he said.

Ultimately, Father Ryan said there was "something deep within you" that wanted to help others in need, and he credited years of swimming, which gave him the ability to assist in water emergencies.

Ocean rescues spike​

Last weekend's rescue at Cable Beach was not an isolated incident.

There has been a spike in swimmers being caught in rips and getting into trouble outside the designated flagged area since the start of the tourist season.

Fatal drowning incidents at Cable Beach in Broome are rare, with a notable case occurring in 2020.

More broadly, the Kimberley region recorded the third-highest regional drowning rate in Australia, at 4.55 per 100,000 residents, according to the latest data from the Royal Life Saving Society.


Broome Surf Life Saving Club director Fabio Armanni said it was important people paid attention to the conditions.

"Rips come out of the blue, and if they (swimmers) get caught, don't panic, swim sideways and if they are in distress, ask for help and raise your hand," he said.

The Broome Surf Life Saving Club volunteers patrol the beach on Sunday, while West Coast Water Rescue patrols throughout the rest of the week.

There were four rescues in five days at Cable Beach, according to West Coast Water Rescue, contracted to patrol the tourist destination by the local council.

Mr Armanni said "preventative actions" were far more common than rescues, typically involving alerts when watercraft came too close to the flags or when someone was caught in a rip.

Swimmers are advised to swim between the flags, check the conditions, swim with a buddy, avoid alcohol and drugs and be wary of rips.

As Father Ryan puts it, "respect the ocean" and "don't be a dag, swim between the flags".

By Ruby Littler