How three children survived being stranded on a deserted island | 60 Minutes Australia

their survival is quite extraordinary their story unique little wonder that on remote bardu island in the torres strait the locals are calling it a miracle three children cast away all alone on a deserted island living on coconuts and oysters what happened was this a disaster at sea an accident that claimed the lives of their parents and another child a three-year-old then a marathon swim through treacherous waters braving sharks and crocodiles and they're just youngsters remarkable courageous youngsters now telling their story for the first time [Music] the beautiful waters of the torres strait are dotted with dozens of islands and are the home to a proud and independent people i think if we're looking and talking in terms of family of man that's exactly what torres strait islander culture is about we should come together to get through issues of crisis this is badou island and the people here were once headhunters in recent weeks though the thousand strong community has been the focus of national and international attention because of three amazing young children 15 year old ellis did you lose hope that you were going to be rescued yeah 10 year old norita who was the boss you or your sister or your brother my brother and eleven-year-old bala the real hero of this story just swim don't be scared swim to an island so one of us could be safe the niner children are shy quiet kids it is the island way but theirs is a remarkable story of endurance and courage for six days they were castaways alone save for sharks crocodiles and the elephants the fear they must have had being out there in the dark in the cold i found it extremely difficult to just come to terms with them three weeks ago vicky tamoy watched her brother-in-law and his family set out by boat from bardu they were going to a 21st birthday party on neighboring thursday island about 40 kilometers away three hours or so by dinghy also on board with hayley nona were his wife lisa the three older children and three-year-old clarence what was the weather like it was so rough and windy rough and windy were you a bit concerned about going out to sea not really like all islanders in these parts the family was used to going to sea in small boats and in all sorts of weather here they call these boats ti taxis or torres strait commodores but this time the nina's outboard motor broke down that fixed the motor and we tried to pull dunk up but we couldn't pull sunk up they would both started to tipped over the water was filling in there and then the seas turned and they became swamped and the the dinky sang [Music] dan a pastor in the local variant of the assemblies of god church apparently showed remarkable composure the boat went down and then he gathered his family around him in the water and together they prayed mum holding the baby told the older kids to swim for their lives that was the nearest island but the current here was running at seven or eight knots i had no chance that's the direction they drifted towards the big one over there but they ended up nine kilometers away one two three on that third rock over there we started to swim mom said don't worry about us just swim the mother told them to you know save your life swim local elders like richard bowie believed the parents decision was the only one they could have made to stay with the youngest and hope that the older children would make it to shore [Music] it was a decision made knowing that they themselves would likely die their belief was you know stick together if they die they dial together if they not get found the kids swam and drifted when mum told them to go on yeah and i suppose the guess is that they had more stamina than their parents the possibility is is that also remembering that hayley and lisa had a three-year-old child with them and decisions what are you going to do how was that three-year-old child going to make it [Music] it was 3 15 on tuesday afternoon give or take a little bit that the boat actually went down it was between seven and eight that evening anyways well after dark that the kids after having drifted within three or four hundred meters of an island with some vegetation actually washed up on this rocky outcrop on the rock um it was dark yeah and what did you do what was the first thing you did i'm going to sleep is that right yeah and this is where they slept on that first night the crevice in the rocks but it was cold how did you sleep you squashed like a punch bunch up i bunched up together were you in the middle when you were sleeping down there yes for the first four days of their ordeal the children sat stood slept and waited there's no vegetation here and certainly no fresh water oysters were their only sustenance at night to keep their minds off their terrible predicament bala told stories ghost stories told us whatever you do don't make a big noise otherwise a red color will come and kill us or if we see a blue ghoul tell them to come and they will take us home so a red ghoul is bad a blue girl is good yeah so you kept looking for blue ghouls yeah tuesday night wednesday wednesday night thursday thursday night friday morning they summoned up the courage to swim for the island that they'd drifted by my brother said to me and my sister we will swim to the island when we get to food and drink that island is matu six kilometers away sharks and crocodiles do cruise these waters but the children knew the tides and carefully judged the optimum time to set up [Music] i mean after all you've been through it and you're at least on a rock it's a big decision to get back in the water yeah so did you have to work up some courage to do that or yeah we worked up some college how did you work up the courage you swim as a group you stayed together there were moments when fatigue set in and desperation i suppose in adult terms and bula was able to assist them by saying just hang on to me and we'll get there it took them half the day but finally they made it to shore on matu and bala's instinct was right here they found food native berries called wongai fruit and also they were damn lucky there was just one coconut tree on the whole island and it had fruit we peeled them and put a stick through the holes and then drink the water you must have been starting to think you'd never be rescued no i just i just told them like just wait i think you will come and rescue us it just doesn't seem to come into the equation that they would never have been saved that's right yeah three days five days 30 days we'll still be there yeah somebody'll find us in fact the children had planned to swim even further they'd worked out an island-hopping route to take them all the way home to bardu they was going to jump the islands they was going to start swimming the other islands and it's a long distance from 10 to get here but they were determined to do it incredible in that the planning you know that was obviously going ahead that's what um bala has spoken to people about he knew those islands from traveling to ti so many times or being out there crayfishing so his plan was to eventually swim to each island until he was close to bardu and somebody would see him eventually someone did see them after three days and three nights on matu their uncle frank found them only slightly worse for wear from sunburn and oyster cuts and we see them running down them rocks you saw them running down the rocks up there yeah the front one and how did you feel inside when you saw them you know i was feeling happy like i found them kids i thought they all of them were they the whole family yeah yes you just asked that ask class like um where's mom and dad but we told them we don't know and so as soon as they were rescued the children joined the search for their parents but by now it was all but a week since their boat had gone down and there was not much more than faith on which to base their hope cruelly there was this false alarm an upturned hull but it turned out to be the result of an accident earlier on this day when people want to go out diving that's that's the best time you got when the tide is low that the three youngsters survived is due largely to elders like richard bowie they teach all the island children survival skills virtually from the moment they can walk rely on salt water they come from our breast and into the sea and that's how it happens uncles significant family members make sure that children know how to survive if necessary how are you going to survive if you're on an island over there okay you're going to know that you can get water and sustenance out of your coconuts you do know that there's fruit there that you can eat you do know that minimal amounts of salt water will tide you through and you have such a firm belief as these children have displayed that family will come and get you so don't worry you're going to be saved but the joy of having the children home was tempered by the tragedy of their lost parents and little brother a memorial service was held last sunday [Music] and for bala it was a particularly difficult day [Music] he used to say to me we go look again for mum and dad and today has brought that sense of finality for him and his sisters will be looked after by their auntie vicky but here on badu island they are actually part of a much bigger family from now on everyone will be a sort of mother and father to them that is the island way is the island proud of them i am very proud of them what they did very proud they the best [Music] hello i'm tom steinfert thanks for watching 60 minutes australia subscribe to our channel now for brand new stories and exclusive clips every week and don't miss out on our extra minute segments and full episodes of 60 minutes on ninenow.com as well as the nine now app

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 3,506,824

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Tom Steinfort, Sarah Abo, karl stefanovic, 60Mins, #60Mins, lost at sea, castaway, torres strait, badu island, miracle, stranded, desert island, tom hanks, wilson, treacherous waters, i shouldn't be alive

Id: wnJ5BhcNEqs

Length: 14min 20sec (860 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 06 2021