George Gjorgiev was looking for lobsters in waters off Hill 60 at Port Kembla when something strange instead caught his eye.
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It was something white. It was wedged between the rocks. It was a human jawbone, he realised - then quickly got out of the water.
"You could clearly see the teeth," Mr Gjorgiev, a recreational fisherman from Coniston, told the Mercury. "I didn't touch it. I was a bit freaked out."
Mr Gjorgiev reported his September 2019 finding and police divers recovered the jaw and other bones, later confirming they were the remains of a rock fisherman who had been missing since he was swept off the rocks at Hill 60 two weeks earlier.
The man had been wearing a lifejacket, but the seas were too big for that to matter much.
Still shaken by his experience, Mr Gjorgiev said he cannot fathom the fishermen returning to the Hill 60 rocks in droves during high swell and other dangerous conditions.
On Sunday morning Mr Gjorgiev captured video at the site showing a dozen fisherman persisting on the rocks, less than two days after three fisherman were swept to their deaths there.
In his videos, onlookers are heard urging the men to get to safety - "don't worry about the rod ... come on, get off, get off!" - as pounding waves catch them at hip height, scatter their belongings and knock at least one of them off their feet.
"When the north-east winds are blowing it's about the only spot down here where everyone comes to fish, but it doesn't mix well with the southerly swell, being a south-facing location," Mr Gjorgiev said.
"It seems to be a lot of tourists that come down and they seem to blame the spot, but they seem to be oblivious to any warnings that were on the news or Facebook. They don't seem to check wind warnings or swell forecasts.
"It doesn't seem to deter them when someone drowns."
Newscorp reports the men washed to their deaths on Friday night were 45-year-old Tiuli Misipati and 49-year-old Tauasa Taugaele from Green Valley in Sydney's south-west, and Joo Sung Jung, 69, from Campsie.
The triple-tragedy came ahead of a hectic Sunday for the Illawarra's volunteer lifesavers, who were involved in 80 rescues and 11 emergency incidents, including a mass rescue at Bulli where 12 people who had been swimming between the flags were taken 50 metres out to sea by a flash rip.
With high temperatures and the Australia Day public holiday expected to drive large numbers to Illawarra beaches tomorrow, authorities are urging beachgoers to take care.
"Over the last few days it's been quite horrific," said Surf Life Saving Illawarra duty officer Anthony Turner.
"We ask the public to do your homework. Do some research before you visit a location. Visit the Beachsafe app - it's got all the vital information about beach safety, parking, operational hours, rip currents, surf safety information.
"All drownings are preventable."
Wollongong Police District acting commander Brad Ainsworth urged rock fishermen to wear a lifejacket and respond to the conditions.
"Be aware of the swell and don't turn your back on the ocaen - it's just got danger written all over it," he said.
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Angela Thompson
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
