AUSTRALIA’S BELOVED BONDI RESCUE HIT BY ANOTHER HEARTBREAK: MATT DEE DE-AD AT 47 AS THE SHOW’S TROUBLED HISTORY RESURFACES — THEN FANS DISCOVER THE EERIE DETAIL CONNECTING HIS DE-ATH TO ANOTHER LIFEGUARD’S TRAGIC FATE
Bondi Rescue has graced Aussie screens on Channel Ten since its inception in 2006.
Across 18 seasons, the elite lifeguards on the show have won hearts on and off screen for their bravery and lovable personalities.
But the series has faced several scandals and tragedies over the years, ranging from deaths to assault and drug charges.
The most recent tragedy came on Wednesday when it was revealed that Bondi Rescue star Matt Dee had died at the age of 47.
‘It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of our Matt Dee,’ his family said in a statement shared to social media.
‘Matt touched the lives of many, he also did amazing work and he will be deeply missed and forever remembered by those who knew and loved him.
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Bondi Rescue has suffered a string of scandals and tragedies over the years, the most recent being the death of beloved star Matt Dee who died aged 47
‘Funeral arrangements and details will be shared once they have been finalised.
‘If Matt’s passing has brought up difficult feelings for you, please know that you don’t have to face them alone. Support is available.’
Dee became one of the show’s most recognisable and beloved lifeguards, winning fans with his cheeky humour, infectious personality and unmistakable Aussie charm.
The popular lifeguard was a familiar face on Bondi Rescue for almost a decade, appearing on the show from 2008 until 2017.
His popularity was so great that Bondi Rescue later celebrated his greatest moments in a compilation titled ‘The Most Aussie Lifeguard EVER’.
Away from the cameras, Dee dedicated much of his time to helping others, co-founding non-profit organisation FTW Revolution and working to raise awareness around mental health.
He was also a Suicide Prevention Australia advocate.
The reality TV personality became a passionate mental health ambassador after losing both his brother and sister within a year, following their struggles with mental health.
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Just a few years earlier, fans of the series were left stunned when lifeguard Andrew ‘Reidy’ Reid, 47, faced court on domestic violence charges in relation to three assaults
His younger sister, Rachel Bridger Dee, died aged 30 in December 2009, following a decade-long battle with schizophrenia.
His older brother Jonathan had bipolar disorder and died several months earlier.
The Bondi Rescue star and his siblings grew up in a tight-knit family, being raised by their single mother in Melbourne.
Just a few years earlier, fans of the series were left stunned when lifeguard Andrew ‘Reidy’ Reid faced court on domestic violence charges in relation to three assaults.
The now 47-year-old pleaded not guilty to two counts of common assault (DV), which allegedly occurred in November 2022 and January 2024 in Chatswood on Sydney’s North Shore.
Police alleged a further charge of occasioning actual bodily harm (DV) occurred on March 24, 2024.
The allegations related to the same woman, who was listed as a protected person under an apprehended domestic violence order against Reid.
Reid was later found guilty of domestic violence common assault in December 2024 after a hearing in Hornsby Local Court.
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Just a year earlier, in December 2023, the Bondi Rescue crew were hit with another blow when their ’emergency vehicles’ were stolen from their tower
He avoided a criminal conviction, receiving a 12-month good behaviour bond and a two-year apprehended violence order (AVO).
Just a year earlier, in December 2023, the Bondi Rescue crew were hit with another blow when their ’emergency vehicles’ were stolen from their tower.
The trained surf lifesavers, made famous by the popular Channel Ten show, arrived at work on a Friday morning to discover thieves had broken into their viewing tower overnight.
Images shared to Instagram appeared to show the offenders smashing open the metal storage room door to steal the secured vehicles.
Casting their eyes on the vital rescue equipment, the thieves stole two beach buggies often used in rescue situations on the adrenaline-pumping TV series.
Thankfully, one buggy was found stuck in the sand down the beach, but the other was never recovered.
‘Last night our tower was broken into and one of the buggies ended up being bogged on the beach and the other is still missing,’ the lifeguards wrote at the time.
‘If anyone in the Bondi area has any information, or seen our missing bike please contact the Bondi police! This is an emergency vehicle and we need it back!’
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The trained surf lifesavers, made famous by the popular Channel Ten show, arrived at work on a Friday morning to discover thieves had broken into their viewing tower overnight
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Thankfully, one buggy was found stuck in the sand down the beach, but the other was never recovered
The buggies are used by the lifeguards every day to patrol the beach and allow the group to quickly make their way across the sand to perform rescues.
Instagram images of the break-in showed the offenders allegedly forced entry through a roller door, damaging a metal corner section to gain access.
Earlier that year, in January 2023, Clint Kimmins, who appeared on Bondi Rescue from 2019 to 2022, revealed he had been jailed at the age of 22 when he glassed a drug dealer in self-defence.
Speaking on the Good Humans podcast, Kimmins recalled being jailed at 22 after wounding a man with a glass during a fight at a 21st birthday party in 2004. He said he acted in self-defence.
The man survived and Kimmins was later found guilty of unlawful wounding. He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, with a six-month non-parole period.
Kimmins, 42, said he spent his first week behind bars sitting in the cold and staring at the blood on the walls, with no idea what day it was.
‘I remember sitting [in the holding cell under the court] in my suit and it was dark and cold,’ he said.
‘Then it was time to get naked and put my clothes in a bag and get into my prison browns…but the clothes stunk and they had holes in them – the shirt was small, the pants were big.’
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Earlier that year, in January 2023, Clint Kimmins, 42, who appeared on Bondi Rescue from 2019 to 2022, revealed he had been jailed at the age of 22 when he glassed a drug dealer in self-defence
Kimmins said he was warned by cell officers not to give anyone his real name, not to tell anyone what he was in for, and to make it clear that he had no drugs – which he did until his face was all over the news that evening.
He told the podcast the holding cell was the worst part of his jail sentence – he was in there for about two months, but had no idea what the time was because it was always dark and cold.
‘There was blood on the walls and paint scratched off by fingernails,’ he said.
‘People were scratching the paint off the wall, rolling it with cardboard toilet rolls and smoking it, and the smell…’
Kimmins worked as a lifeguard with Bondi Rescue for four years before he was sacked in July 2022 after failing to reveal his Covid vaccination status.
He was among several lifeguards who had been stood down by Waverley Council, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Kimmins had been patrolling the local beaches for the past four years before he received an email from the council revealing his employment had been terminated.
‘There was no “sorry to be the bearer of bad news” – it was a very cold exit by email. That was it,’ he told Courier Mail at the time.
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Bondi Rescue was also rocked by the death of lifeguard Terry ‘T-Mac’ McDermott, aged 63, on September 1, 2022. Pictured with his wife Joanna
Kimmins said he believed his vaccination status was personal and accused the council of pressuring lifeguards to reveal whether or not they were vaccinated.
He claimed the council could have handled the terminations better and criticised the decision to notify lifeguards by email.
‘We were on the frontline throughout the pandemic when they made us close the beaches and we’ve been left covered in blood from rescuing people and doing suicide retrievals from the rocks,’ he said.
‘To be treated this way is hugely disappointing.’
Kimmins said the abrupt termination of his role had left him financially and emotionally damaged and that he was seeing a psychologist.
Just a few months later, Bondi Rescue was rocked by the death of lifeguard Terry ‘T-Mac’ McDermott, aged 63, on September 1, 2022.
He died following a battle with cancer and his passing was announced in a post on the Facebook page Bondi Rescue Lifeguards.
McDermott was described as one of ‘the nicest watermen to don a jersey’.
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Head lifeguard Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins, 51, was caught up in a drink driving scandal in 2016
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Hoppo later pleaded guilty to high-range drink driving and lost his licence for 12 months. He blamed the breakdown of his marriage with Stacey Woods (right)
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He has since moved on with publicist Karen Griffin (left)
‘This selfless man saved countless lives during his career spanning more than 30 years working at many different beaches,’ the tribute read.
‘Terry, Tezzy, T-Mac, Moondoggy McDermott. Thank you for your service to the community. Rest easy great man.’
McDermott spent 20 years working as a lifeguard on the Central Coast and 10 years patrolling the famous Bondi Beach.
In 2020, the darkest moments of some of the elite group of rescuers also came to light amid the coronavirus pandemic when their work was put on hold.
Head lifeguard Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins was caught up in a drink-driving scandal in 2016.
The head lifeguard, 51, was pulled over by police after he was allegedly seen driving erratically in Bondi on January 4 after leaving restaurant Chapter One, which he founded.
He was breath tested and was three times over the legal limit and arrested, The Daily Telegraph reported at the time.
Hoppo later pleaded guilty to high-range drink-driving and lost his licence for 12 months. He blamed the breakdown of his marriage with Stacey Woods.
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Jesse Polock, 29, who quit the show in 2019, was allegedly found with ketamine and cocaine during a drug bust in Maroubra in December that same year
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Nicola Atherton also spoke about her struggles with an addiction to sleeping pills and alcohol before joining the reality show in 2014
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What do these tragedies say about the toll lifesaving work takes on those who protect our beaches?
He went on to marry publicist Karen Griffin after proposing to her in Cuba in 2019.
According to a report by Woman’s Day, Jesse Polock, who quit the show in 2019, was allegedly found with ketamine and cocaine during a police operation in Maroubra in December that year.
The father-of-one, 29, who is a member of the Bra Boys surf gang, was charged with one count of supplying prohibited drugs and two counts of possession.
Polock pleaded guilty to the possession charge and was fined and convicted. He pleaded not guilty to supplying prohibited drugs and that charge was later quashed in 2021.
His lawyer, Chayana Miers, said he quit his job as a lifeguard on Bondi Rescue because of the ‘numerous suicides and difficult experiences he was exposed to in the role’.
Lifeguard Nicola Atherton also spoke about her struggles with an addiction to sleeping pills and alcohol before joining the reality show in 2014.
In 2016, she told Woman’s Day that she turned to pills and alcohol after breaking up with her first long-term partner after two years of dating.
A wild night in Bali led to her being admitted to hospital when she stopped breathing after mixing pills and alcohol.
She told the magazine it was the wake-up call she needed and, after returning to Australia, sought help from a psychologist.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-16100501/bondi-rescue-curse-matt-dee-death.html
