Selfless Australians have been recognised and celebrated recently as part of the 2019 Australian Bravery Medal awards.
This year, 17 Australians have received the medal, including Mr Lyle Collins from Rochester, who was awarded for saving his neighbour from a swarm of bees.
At about 6pm on February 6, 2018, Mr Collins was assisting his neighbour to remove an old fence post from his rural property. As the pair used a tractor to pull the post to a nearby road, they disrupted a wild beehive, with the bees becoming aggressive, agitated and swarming into the air.
A number of bees quickly flew towards Mr Collins’ older neighbour and covered his face, arms and bodies in a thick layer. Seated in the cab of his tractor, Mr Collin’s told his neighbour to run but the man couldn’t hear him.
By now, many bees had entered the cab of the tractor, forcing Mr Collins to get out, with bees stinging him now too. He then ran 400 metres to his neighbours’ house in order to quickly collect items to help provide some protection from the swarm of bees.
Mr Collins raced back to his neighbour, who had fallen to the ground and was absolutely covered in constantly stinging bees. Amidst being stung himself, Mr Collins used towels to remove the bees from his neighbour and covered him with a sheet. He then used insecticide on the bees, which caused them to become more agitated.
Mr Collins was then able to drag his neighbour away from the area. Soon, emergency services arrived on the scene and both men were taken to hospital where they were treated for their extensive bee injuries.
By his actions, Mr Collins displayed considerable bravery and was awarded for his efforts.
