{"id":115080,"date":"2026-05-06T15:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T05:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/?p=115080"},"modified":"2026-05-13T19:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T09:53:09","slug":"heroes-remembered-tributes-flow-for-marine-rescue-volunteers-after-ballina-bar-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/heroes-remembered-tributes-flow-for-marine-rescue-volunteers-after-ballina-bar-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Heroes remembered: Tributes flow for Marine Rescue volunteers after Ballina Bar tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Marine Rescue volunteers Bill Ewen and Frank Petsch are being remembered as heroes following their deaths in the Ballina Bar tragedy.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=476&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1644282163462489%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=267&amp;t=0\" width=\"267\" height=\"476\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The two men died when their vessel capsized while responding to a yacht in distress off the Ballina Bar. The occupant of the yacht has also been confirmed dead as police investigations continue.<\/p>\n<p>Ewen, 78, had served with Marine Rescue Ballina for almost a decade, joining the unit in February 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Petsch, 62, joined the unit in January 2024 and had progressed to the role of coxswain.<\/p>\n<p>Marine Rescue Ballina unit commander Peter Hill said both men would be remembered as heroes whose service to the community would not be forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBill loved getting on the boat, you practically needed a crowbar to get him off,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe truly loved what he did, and we\u2019re going to miss him terribly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrank was someone who never hesitated. If something needed to be done, Frank would say \u2018yes\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hill said the loss had deeply affected the unit but thanked the community for its outpouring of support.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 707px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/05\/IMG_2487_07421.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"707\" height=\"530\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marine Rescue Ballina unit commander Peter Hill addressed the media at the local tower. Photo: Mitchell Craig.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are hurting, and I\u2019ve been overwhelmed by the support the community has shown us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He also confirmed he had visited injured crew members in hospital, who remained in good spirits despite the ordeal.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, Ewen\u2019s family described him as a devoted family man who took great pride in serving his community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBill was a devoted family man who was incredibly proud to serve his community as a member of the Marine Rescue Ballina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are devastated at the loss of a much-loved husband, father and grandfather, but take comfort from knowing that he passed doing something he loved. We are so proud of him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur thoughts are with the entire crew and families involved, and we extend our sincere thanks to the first responders. We respectfully request privacy at this time to mourn our Bill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tributes and messages of support have continued to flow across social media, with many describing the pair as selfless volunteers who died helping others.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 703px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/05\/Frank_09818.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"703\" height=\"527\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frank Petsch has been remembered as a hero by his friends at the Ballina Marine Rescue unit. Photo: Marine Rescue NSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Not all heroes wear capes. I wish I\u00a0could swap my life for their life,&#8221; Tony Fechner said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Condolences for loved ones of these unsung heroes,&#8221; Tony Burge said. As someone who loves boating I thank you for your service.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;God bless these Aussie heroes who died volunteering to help fellow ocean lovers,&#8221; Fishing TV Australia said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Condolences to their families and friends, our hearts go out to you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Cherry Street Sports Club has started a donation drive and offered its message of support.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is hard to put into words what that kind of courage and selflessness really means.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These were people who gave their time, asked for nothing, and always put others first.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115004\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115004\" style=\"width: 429px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-115004\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2026\/05\/William-Bill-Ewen-223x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"429\" height=\"577\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115004\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The family of Bill Ewen have released a statement thanking the community for their support. Photo: Marine Rescue NSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib visited the Marine Rescue Ballina unit, where support services are being made available to volunteers and their families.<\/p>\n<p>Marine Rescue NSW commissioner Todd Andrews said efforts were underway to recover the rescue vessel as part of an ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n<p>He said the main focus would remain on the people affected with mental health support widely available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe vessel will be salvaged by an independent contractor, and that process needs to be carried out very carefully,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will form part of a continued investigation involving NSW Police and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur focus right now is on supporting our volunteers and the families of our fallen colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dib indicated that a replacement vessel would be funded with government support alongside local fundraising initiatives which are already underway.<\/p>\n<p>Floral tributes were laid at the unit by Marine Rescue crew along with Richmond MP Justine Elliot and Ballina mayor Sharon Cadwallader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marine Rescue volunteers Bill Ewen and Frank Petsch are being remembered as heroes following their deaths in the Ballina Bar tragedy. The two men died when their vessel capsized while responding to a yacht in distress off the Ballina Bar. The occupant of the yacht has also been confirmed dead as police investigations continue. Ewen, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/heroes-remembered-tributes-flow-for-marine-rescue-volunteers-after-ballina-bar-tragedy\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":115081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-115080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Heroes remembered: Tributes flow for Marine Rescue volunteers after Ballina Bar tragedy - Lismore Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Volunteers embraced as community shows support to much-loved pair who died in the Ballina bar rescue efforts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/lismoretimes\/news\/heroes-remembered-tributes-flow-for-marine-rescue-volunteers-after-ballina-bar-tragedy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heroes remembered: Tributes flow for Marine Rescue volunteers after Ballina Bar tragedy - 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