This book is based on a true story. The story of the cocker spaniel named Bozo and his owner my great-grandfather Joe Wells. They lived in Queenscliff, near the mouth of Port Phillip Bay where it empties with the tide into Bass strait, a very dangerous body of water known as ‘The Rip’. My great-grandfather Joe was a professional fisherman, fishing for crayfish and barracouta as well as other fish when they were running.
Where and when…
Bozo was a blue roan cocker spaniel, a breed well known for being good swimmers which was lucky for Bozo, as one day in 1956 while they were out fishing a terrible thing happened. Bozo fell overboard into ‘The Rip’. Joe and his fishing companion Joey Nairn were gazing up at a large ship that was passing close by and didn’t see that Bozo had fallen off the boat. Despite searching for him for several hours, they could not find him. Great-grandfather then steeled himself for the task to go and tell the local fishers, his family and all the kids who knew and loved Bozo that Bozo had drowned.
Or so he thought. Bozo had, in fact, achieved the seemingly impossible and had swum home to safety!
Joe and his shipmates
Joey Nairn and Bozo
Joe’s grandson Buzz
This amazing story was on the front page of Australia’s biggest-selling newspaper, the Sun News-Pictorial, with the headline, “It wasn’t R.I.P for Bozo”. Bozo was even awarded a medal for this feat!
Bozo’s tale has been told to each generation ever since. I thought it best to write it down, so that others can share in what was a truly a brave feat by a little dog.
Even now, nearly seven decades later, the legend of Bozo, conqueror of ‘The Rip’ lives on in Queenscliff and the Bellarine Peninsula fishing towns of Victoria, Australia.
The Rip’ is the narrow waterway entrance connecting Bass Strait to Port Phillip Bay, and is the only seaport access to Victoria’s two largest cities. ‘The Rip’ is a dangerous stretch of water and has claimed numerous ships and many lives.