Six-year-old Toby Gullen-Baker was being swept out to sea.
He was boogie boarding at Tomahawk Beach in Dunedin with his friend, 15-year-old Polly Lublow-Catty, on Sunday afternoon when he was caught in a rip.
Polly, who had made it back to the beach, made a split-second decision to return to the water to save her friend.
Once she reached Toby, Polly pulled him to the surface, kept them afloat and dragged him towards nearby rocks, where Toby’s father Dan Baker reached them.
With the assistance of two men, the trio were pulled off the rocks, before emergency services arrived.
Yesterday, Polly’s act of bravery was celebrated by her schoolmates at Sara Cohen School.
Polly, who has an intellectual disability, said she was boogie boarding in a wetsuit with Toby when she caught a wave in.
"He didn’t ... He was getting sucked away."
She saw Toby didn’t seem to to be able to get anywhere and ran back into the surf.
She used his boogie board to support him and herself, and swam towards the rocks.
"We were out there for 15 minutes when Dan turned up among the rocks.
"It was kind of scary ... I was tired."
Mr Baker said he was in the water with Polly, Toby and older son James (7) — who could all swim — at the beach but got out and was sitting on the sand just before 4pm.
"I had told [Polly and Toby] only a couple more minutes in the water and from there it all happened so fast."
Mr Baker said he told James to run for help before getting back into the water himself, where he managed to get to the pair who were by then close to the rocks.
"It all happened so fast — we were getting pushed against the rocks.
"We’re very lucky the two men came along to help us out because we were all knackered.
"I have some regret. You always think about how you could have done things differently ... but Polly’s an absolute gem."
Toby, Polly and Mr Baker were taken to Dunedin Hospital to warm up and get chest X-rays but were later discharged.
Toby was doing well, and the pair had been for a walk along the beach this week, he said.
Mother Mel Lublow-Catty said she was still processing the heroic actions of her daughter.
"I’m in awe of her ... She was 34 degrees and as white as the sheet wrapped around her, but she kept saying ‘I just didn’t want to let him go’.
"She absolutely saved his life."
Mrs Lublow-Catty said the incident stressed the importance of teaching children to swim.
"We’ve been militant about lessons. I think learning to swim should be a rite of passage for kids in New Zealand."
Sara Cohen School principal Matthew Tofia said the school was incredibly proud of Polly.
"We’re very impressed by what Polly has done ... We knew we needed to do something to mark the occasion."
