A multi-agency rescue operation successfully evacuated a 19-year-old woman from Barrenjoey Lighthouse on Saturday evening after she collapsed near the recently completed amenities block.
NSW Ambulance received the emergency call at 5.45pm on 23 August, just as the sun was setting over Palm Beach. The young international visitor was part of a four-person group exploring the popular tourist destination when she began experiencing severe abdominal pain and became unable to walk.
With standard ambulances unable to navigate the steep, narrow track to the lighthouse, emergency services coordinated a complex rescue involving multiple agencies. NSW Ambulance Inspector Ronnie Mawhinney attended the scene alongside two Special Operations Paramedics and a NSW Ambulance 4WD vehicle.
Fire and Rescue NSW Avalon Station responded, along with NSW Rural Fire Service crews from Terrey Hills and Ingleside. However, the breakthrough came when Avalon firefighters contacted North Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club to inquire about accessing their all-terrain vehicle.
Fortune smiled on the rescue effort when the club’s president happened to be on-site and immediately responded with the ATV to the emergency services staging area at Station Beach car park.
A Special Operations Paramedic travelled up the headland via ATV just after 6.45pm, ascending the steep track in near-complete darkness with only the vehicle’s lights for guidance. The patient was located near the lighthouse shortly before 7pm and assessed as being in stable condition.
Rather than deploying the ground crews who were preparing to hike up on foot, the decision was made to transport the woman back via ATV. By 7.15pm, she had been safely evacuated to the beach where a full medical assessment was conducted before transport to Northern Beaches Hospital.
The rescue highlights ongoing challenges at the popular lighthouse destination, which attracts over 200,000 visitors annually to Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Emergency services regularly respond to medical incidents at the location, often heat-related, though Saturday’s incident occurred as temperatures were cooling.
Emergency responders noted the narrow path from the car park makes it impossible for standard police or ambulance vehicles to reach the lighthouse, making ATVs essential for patient transport.
The successful rescue was particularly notable given the communication challenges posed by the international visitors’ limited English proficiency, which initially made it difficult for emergency services to assess the patient’s exact condition.
A new 4WD ambulance vehicle designed for patient transport is on order for the Northern Beaches area and is expected to be operational before summer. This specialised vehicle allows paramedics to provide treatment during transport, addressing a current capability gap in the standard 4WD vehicles available to the service.
The incident demonstrates the valuable community partnerships between emergency services and local volunteer organisations like North Palm Beach SLSC, whose local knowledge and specialised equipment proved crucial to the successful outcome.
Published 24-August-2025
