Hay MacDowell was awarded a medal by the Royal Humane Society of Australasia for his act of bravery on 27 January 1908 (case #2471). MacDowell, of St John's Parade, Kew, was a 33-year-old singing master. He was swimming at Ninety Mile Beach with John Mouritz, aged nine, and Charles Cyril Login, aged eight. The tide was running out, and the undertow caught the boys and carried them into a hole about 20 feet deep. They called out, and MacDowell, who was 'not a good swimmer, swam in, caught the younger boy, brought him to land, and then, returning for the older boy, rescued him also'.

References:
Royal Humane Society of Australasia Annual Report, 1908, p.31.

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