Beached Humpback Whale Rallies Community

BY BRONTE HODGE

Dozens of locals rushed to the aid of a beached humpback whale last Friday afternoon, but despite dedicated efforts, the whale sadly died a few hours after it was discovered.

Conway locals noticed the whale on Friday morning, many of whom organised themselves with shovels and buckets in an effort to get the mammal back to water.

Jubilee Pocket locals, Ti Hokins and family, were enjoying a day off when they saw the news on the Whales of the Whitsundays Facebook group.

With wife and daughter in tow, Ti attended the scene with two buckets and a shovel. They were some of the first people on the beach.

All the first responders had were two good buckets, one broken bucket, a serving dish, towels and shovels, which were all used in a desperate effort to save the whale.

“It was quite beautiful to see the community come together to help the whale,” explains Ti.

“The whale was groaning and grunting and blowing water from its blow hole, as well as flicking with its tail.”

The rescuers soon realised, however, that the tide was far out from the whale’s position, and Ti said it would have been a

“miracle for the whale to survive that long” waiting for the tide to come back in.

“It was alive for two hours, until it just stopped,” said Ti.

“Everyone kinda just realised at the same time that it had stopped moving or making noise.”

By that time, numerous community members and even representatives from ZigZag Whitsundays were on the ground, splash-