‘He chose us’: Friends and family farewell Bondi Rescue’s Matt Dee with huge party wave

Hundreds of friends, family and former colleagues gathered to farewell former Bondi Rescue star and mental health advocate Matt Dee following his sudden death.

Dee’s ashes were carried into the surf at Bronte Beach in Sydney’s east on Saturday before they were scattered in the ocean as surfers formed a circle in a traditional surf burial before paddling back to shore together on a giant party wave.

The TV star died suddenly on September 1, with his best friend Kev Goodall saying it is believed he died from natural causes.

Mr Goodall said the overwhelming turnout on Saturday was a fitting send-off to a man who touched countless lives.

“He always made you feel like he was everyone’s best mate,” Mr Goodall said.

“He was a really well-loved, unique character. We just wanted to give him a good send-off that’s fit for the Pirate King.”

Friends and family carried flowers into the water and played some of Dee’s favourite songs as the crowd gathered at his local beach.

Mr Goodall said Dee had always made his wishes clear to his mates.

“All he said is, if I ever go, just make sure you guys make it a big party,” he said.

“We’re just following his wishes, and doing exactly what he’d want us to do.

“And this is his home beach, so it’s a fitting place to do it.”

Speaking to NewsWire, Dee’s father John said his son had tirelessly dedicated his time to helping people in crisis, revealing his son’s personal mobile phone was directly linked to a suicide prevention service.

“He saved a lot of lives,” John said.

“He talked a lot of people off a cliff.”

John said he wanted the public to know his son’s death was not from suicide, despite the collosal impact mental illness had on Dee’s life.

Dee lost his siblings Rachel, 30, and Jonathan, 34, in 2009, who each suffered from mental illness. His grandmother took her own life when Dee was 15.

“I couldn’t be prouder of Matt than any human being for the work he did,” John said.

Former Bondi Rescue colleague Benny Davies remembered a lighter, legendary side of Dee, sharing stories of overseas surf trips and outrageous antics.

Davies said Dee once returned to a hotel in Fiji with a live goat and while at the Padma Hotel he took a boogie board into a pool where they were banned and “chewed it into about 100 pieces”.

Davies also recalled how Dee once managed to work two jobs at the exact same time, at the Accidental Hotel in the city and a construction site across the road, running over in a hard hat whenever the site’s foreman appeared.

“Matty Dee could become friends with anyone, he could pick just about any person on the planet and become their friend, just like that,” Davies said.

“Yet, he chose us to be his friends. And he chose us because we’re special.

“Or at least, Matty made everybody so special and that was his incredible quality.”

Davies asked the crowd to picture Dee’s trademark “smiling Cheshire cat face” before reading a passage from Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel On the Road.

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time,” Davies read.

“The ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.

“Love you, Matty. You’re missed already.”

Before surfers entered the water, former Bondi Beach lifeguard Daniel McLaughlin gave the crowd a safety briefing, telling the crowd to look out for one another, stick close to the reef and make sure everyone caught a party wave back to shore.

“There’s no race to the beach today, we’re all coming in together,” McLaughlin said.

Dee appeared on the Australian hit reality show Bondi Rescue from 2008 to 2017.

Lifeline: 13 11 14.