Where is Matt Johnson ?

 

There is no full time life guards around hear

Just an old man with one lag  John Kerk AKA peg leg

 

 

 I copied this from an article I found

 

I was surfing with some mates at the Big Left about 1973-74, I was 16 and playing cricket in the 14 to 16 year old age group. (This has some bearing on my story) my mum used to drive me and my mates to Flinders and sit in the car and knit while we went surfing (aren't mums great). We were out at Big Left and I used to go through the white water backwards in those days, no duck diving. From memory this way of dealing with white water was not uncommon. Anyhow on this one day in particular I was going through a wave backwards, when the next thing I knew there was a almighty whack on the back of my head, next thing I remember I was on the beach at the golf course on the front of peg legs ski. Someone had apparently taken off in front of him whilst he was already on the wave, and to miss them he turned back towards the whitewash and straight over the top off me.

 

He found me under the water by searching near my board and luckily managed to grab the neck of my wetsuit and haul me onto his ski, as I was out cold. He then headed for the beach, my mates saw it happen and paddled in and got mum to drive down to pick me up. Things are very blurry here but it was off to Hastings Hospital, where I got 16 stitches and spent the night. The next day I was supposed to play cricket at Balnarring but instead I just went and watched with a great story to tell everyone at the cricket!

 

After that I saw Peg many times surfing at Flinders and Pines but never spoke to him, until one day at Pines I paddled over to him and asked if he could remember that day at Flinders? He replied yes, then I told him that I was the kid. He was very happy and he said a bit relieved as he sometimes wondered what had ever happen to me. He also said that he didn't know exactly where I was under the water and just felt around until he found me so really he saved my life! It is unbelievable that at 85 he can still get in the water! That's fantastic and a real inspiration.

 

http://www.triggerbrothers.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=444%3Ajohn-kirk-aka-peg-leg&Itemid=100031