A tranquil, turquoise stream surrounded by rainforest, birdsong and boulders \u2014 it’s the kind of place people travel across the world to visit.<\/p>\n
Floating in the water or watching the stream rush between the rocks, modern life seems a thousand miles away.<\/p>\n
To get to these spots, though, you must first pass several striking signs, warning that 21 people have died here since 1916, with the latest death occurring last year.<\/p>\n
The vast majority \u2014 84 per cent \u2014 of those who have died at Babinda Boulders (Bunna Binda), were male, and 53 per cent were aged between 18 and 24.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Siphons and sieves between rocks in Devil’s Pool can pull even strong swimmers under the water. (ABC Far North: Holly Richardson)<\/p>\n
Locals say that despite renewed safety measures, more action is needed to prevent further tragedies.<\/p>\n
Most of the deaths have occurred downstream from the designated “safe swimming” zones, in areas including those known as Devil’s Pool and The Chute.<\/p>\n
Visitors and locals alike have sometimes slipped or sunk to their deaths after mistaking flat water, bubbling pools or narrow streams as low-risk areas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fast-flowing water beneath rocks can pull swimmers down and under, where they can become stuck. (Supplied: Cairns Regional Council)<\/p>\n
‘It’s an awful feeling’<\/p>\n
It’s a danger the traditional owners, the Madjandji People, know is intrinsic to this place, and dates back to the story of how this place was created.<\/p>\n
Madjandji Aboriginal Corporation chairJamie Satani said the landscape was formed by a tragedy, when a young woman named Oolana was promised to an older man, but fell in love with a man named Dyga from a visiting tribe.<\/p>\n
Mr Satani said the pair ran away together, up the river, but the tribes found them at the site that is now the Boulders.<\/p>\n
“They tore them apart,” he said.<\/p>\n
Jamie Satani says every death at the Boulders is felt throughout the community. (ABC Far North: Sophie McManus)<\/p>\n
“If she could not have Dyga \u2026 no-one could have her, so then she threw herself into the waters and, today, that spirit is still there, searching for a lover.”<\/p>\n
Mr Satani said this moment caused the boulders to form, and it became a sacred story place for the Madjandji People.<\/p>\n
He said the impact of every death was felt across the region.<\/p>\n
“The moment that happens, it sends an uneasy feeling through the community \u2026 it’s an awful feeling” he said.<\/p>\n
“They’re lost, their soul is still here, they’re trapped here in this place.”Push for more safety<\/p>\n
Local woman Leanne Thompson knows the rocks well. She grew up a stone’s throw from the famous waterhole and spent many afternoons and weekends exploring the area with friends.<\/p>\n
“It’s a pretty special, magical place, and each and every time you swam here, you definitely got like an afterglow,” she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The swimming areas at Babinda Boulders are very popular with locals and tourists.\u00a0 (ABC Far North: Rosanne Maloney)<\/p>\n
But the darker side was never far from mind.<\/p>\n
“There were times when I was a child where I had nightmares about when you would hear the ambulance coming to do a body retrieval, and you found they had jumped across The Chute, or they got caught in a siphon or a sieve,” she said.<\/p>\n
Years later, in 2008, after the death of a naval officer at the site, Ms Thompson decided something needed to change.<\/p>\n
“I thought maybe if he was armed with knowledge, would he have made a different choice?” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Thompson spent years trawling through archives, old newspaper records and coroners’ reports.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After growing up near Babinda Boulders, Leanne Thompson campaigned for improved safety.\u00a0 (ABC Far North: Holly Richardson)<\/p>\n
Using the information she uncovered, she successfully campaigned in 2022 to have the Cairns Regional Council launch a safety review of the site.<\/p>\n
Her tenacity also led to newer, more graphic signage being installed.<\/p>\n
The review found high risks from large siphons, or sieves, in areas upstream from Devil’s Pool, which, to the untrained eye, appear to be merely small areas of bubbling water.<\/p>\n
“They suck [swimmers] down underground into subterranean caverns,” Ms Thompson said.<\/p>\n
“If you were to go into those siphons or strainers, you’re going to die.”<\/p>\n
Several people have died after falling into The Chute when attempting to jump over it. (ABC Far North: Holly Richardson)<\/p>\n
Ms Thompson says the best way to picture The Chute is to imagine the wide area of water upstream, forced to pass through a crack in the rocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The narrow opening visible at the surface may be only a metre or two wide, however, beneath the surface, the rock has been more heavily eroded, creating a cavern where fast, aerated water rushes through, plunging many metres.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Caverns under rocks in The Chute can cause people who fall in to become trapped. (Supplied: Cairns Regional Council)<\/p>\n
Police start regular patrols<\/p>\n
Sergeant Doug Godden has worked in Babinda for many years and has coordinated several body retrievals at the Boulders.<\/p>\n
He says there are specific dangers in the water course that differ from most swimming holes.<\/p>\n
“The amount of oxygen that’s in the [water], caused by the turbulence, makes it very, very difficult to swim because there’s no pressure to push up to get yourself out of the water,” Sergeant Godden said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sergeant Doug Godden\u00a0says the Boulders water course is beautiful, but it is also treacherous. (ABC Far North: Holly Richardson)<\/p>\n
He added that obstacles under the water, such as rocks and logs, “could either cause you to strike them and fall unconscious or [you could] be trapped underneath them”.<\/p>\n
He said police had started regular patrols of the no-go areas over the past few years, with the aim of educating visitors and swimmers rather than punishing them.<\/p>\n
“The water course is stunning, and you can see the attraction,” he said.<\/p>\n
“[But] the fear, or the caution, is not there because the consequences don’t mean much until they’ve happened.”<\/p>\n
Sergeant Godden said the signs, patrols and other information campaigns were making a difference, but one preventable death was one too many.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Signs warn visitors to Babinda Boulders of the many people who have died in the danger zones. (ABC Far North: Sophie McManus)<\/p>\n
‘I was having flashbacks’<\/p>\n
Musician Will Clift was visiting Babinda Boulders with his girlfriend in 2021, when they heard someone screaming.<\/p>\n
A young woman had fallen into The Chute, and her friend was yelling for help but there was nothing anyone could do.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Musician Will Clift\u00a0was visiting Babinda when he witnessed the tragic moments after a woman slipped into The Chute. (ABC Far North: Holly Richardson)<\/p>\n
“The girl who had the accident wasn’t even trying to swim, she just slipped,” Mr Clift said.<\/p>\n