Rockfall hits Bronte Beach in Sydney

The Australian

15 hours ago

Aussie surfer Christian Gouverneur is on his way to buy a lottery ticket after dodging a dramatic rockfall at Sydney's legendary Bronte Beach.
'I got the day off work, so I went for a surf,' he told NewsWire on Friday.
'I was walking down the stairs, that's exactly where it collapsed.
'I was in the water and I heard the loudest 'bang' in my life.
'I thought Sydney got nuked or something. I turned around and looked and the whole cliff had collapsed.'
Mr Gouverneur said he planned to get a haircut and 'grab a lottery ticket on the way'.
'It was fully in the spot where I was walking, so I would have died,' he said.
'People say, 'You dodged a bullet'. And that's what it was. I dodged a cliff falling on my head.
'If I had gotten out of bed 30 seconds earlier, it would be a whole different story.
'I would be under that rock pile. It's pretty surreal. It's the closest I've ever been to death, that's for sure.'
Christian Gouverneur is going to buy a lottery ticket after his near-death experience. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone
The rockfall happened at noon. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone
The cliff fall happened at noon on the popular beach, which sits just south of world-famous Bondi Beach.
In a statement, Waverley Council said a 'significant volume of rock' had fallen onto the beach.
'Waverley Council staff and Bronte lifeguards were on the scene shortly after the incident occurred, establishing an exclusion zone and notifying authorities,' a Waverley spokesman said.
'Assessments are ongoing but it appears sustained heavy rainfall may have contributed to the section of the cliff slipping, beneath which a stormwater drain – or culvert – ran.
'The culvert and a safety rail were badly damaged during the slip.'
The council will now conduct a 'geotechnical assessment' to ensure the stability of the cliff area and determine whether the exclusion zone needs to be extended.
The council has established an exclusion zone at the beach. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone
'People are asked to avoid the area,' the spokesman said.
A lifeguard said Sydney's rainy weather might have prevented any injuries or even deaths.
'Busy day, people would be sunbaking, hanging out underneath the cliff,' he said in a video posted to the bondilifeguards Instagram page.
'We're fortunate it was rainy. No one around except lion supporters.'
Bronte Beach is a beloved destination for Sydneysiders and tourists from around the world. Its legendary Christmas Day bash attracts thousands of revellers who congregate on the beach to take in the holiday, with some dressed in Santa Claus costumes.
Duncan Evans
Reporter
Duncan Evans is a reporter for News Corp's NewsWire service, based in Adelaide. Before NewsWire, he worked as a resources and politics reporter for The Daily Mercury in Mackay, Queensland and as a reporter at CQ Today, an independent newspaper based in Rockhampton. He was raised in Emerald and Brisbane and studied English Literature and American Studies at the University of Sydney. He began his career in journalism working for the Jakarta Post in Indonesia for over two years as an editor, translator and writer. He is fluent in Indonesian.
@Duncanevans01
Duncan Evans