Choosing to Act – The Story Behind My Bravery Award

In February 2023, I was at home, enjoying a rare Scouting-free Sunday, when, in the late afternoon, the usual was broken by a commotion and screams from the street outside my home.

Two assailants had selected my street to rob an individual of an iPhone that he was attempting to sell on Facebook Marketplace.

The initial yells and commotion attracted my attention; however, it was the panicked screams that prompted me into action. As I exited my carport, I observed one of the assailants chasing the victim up my street. As the victim stumbled and fell into a neighbour’s garden bed, I saw him roll onto his back and into a defensive posture. Kicking out with his legs to keep the assailant from pouncing on him, I sprinted towards the pair, yelling for the assailant to get off the person on the ground.

It was as I was running towards them that I saw the assailant had a knife and was kicking and attempting to slash the victim on the ground. Continuing to yell as I ran towards them, I used my best commanding voice to scream at him to “drop the knife” and “get off”, but maybe with a few more expletives.

The assailant saw me coming as I got within five metres of them. Choosing to avoid a direct confrontation with me, he tried to sidestep around me. Meeting him diagonally, I hit him with my forearm, causing him to stumble and discard the knife into a garden bed.

No longer a threat, I allowed him to run off down the street to meet his accomplice, and I turned my attention to the victim, who was still on the ground. Fearing he’d been cut or worse, I was relieved to discover that, other than a few minor scrapes and grazes, he was unhurt.

I then stayed with the victim while calling emergency assistance and proceeded to help the police with their enquiries. Later, I learnt that both assailants had been arrested and charged.

On Wattle Day, September 1, the Governor-General announced that I was to be the recipient of the Commendation for Brave Conduct, Australia’s fourth-highest bravery award, for my actions on that day.

The Australian Bravery Awards are one of the quiet pillars of our national character: a formal way of saying that courage isn’t only found in headlines or uniforms, but in ordinary people who act when it would be easier to look away. They recognise acts of bravery, often sudden, often selfless, where someone accepts real risk to protect another person or prevent harm. In a culture that can be quick to celebrate celebrity and spectacle, these awards pull our attention back to something sturdier: responsibility, compassion and moral clarity under pressure.

But recognition doesn’t happen by magic. Many brave acts are witnessed by a few and then folded into family stories, local memory or private gratitude. If you know someone who stepped forward in an emergency, intervened to save a life or acted decisively to shield others from danger, consider nominating them. A nomination is not about “making a fuss”; it’s about making sure our public record includes the best of us.

To nominate, follow the guidance and nomination process on the Governor-General’s website.

Also, many people are surprised to learn that Scouts has a bravery award system, with nominations needing to be made to Scouts Australia. These include the Bronze Cross, Silver Cross and Gilt Cross – the last of which was presented in NSW in 2025.

Warrick ‘Manta’ Lee
Branch Commissioner – Aquatics