Australian man , dubbed the "Angel of The Gap", has died. He earned his nickname after spending decades talking people out of jumping from , a cliff famed as a suicide spot beside his house in ,  . The Gap, where Ritchie spent much of his life rescuing people from suicide. Credited with at least 160 rescues, though his family suggest the true figure is 500, reports carry conflicting values of Ritchie's age; he was in his mid eighties. He moved to a house beside The Gap in 1964 and lived there the rest of his life, quickly earning his first award after tackling a man who was about to jump. At first he held back would-be jumpers whilst his wife summoned help, but then took to approaching them with his palms out and saying simply "Is there something I could do to help you?" Ritchie's "courage delivered small miracles," said Cr Susan Wynne, Mayor of Woollahra. National Australia Day Council's interim head Tam Johnston has issued a statement saying "Don's story touched the hearts of all Australians and challenged each of us to rethink what it means to be a good neighbour... Don was a true gentleman with a smile that could light up the room." Local politician  , who united with Ritchie and mental health workers to demand suicide prevention measures at The Gap, said "His work lives on forever not just in the lives of those he saved but in his heroism and example of public service."
Australian man , dubbed the "Angel of The Gap", has died. He earned his nickname after spending decades talking people out of jumping from , a cliff famed as a suicide spot beside his house in , Sydney . The Gap, where Ritchie spent much of his life rescuing people from suicide. Credited with at least 160 rescues, though his family suggest the true figure is 500, reports carry conflicting values of Ritchie's age; he was in his mid eighties. He moved to a house beside The Gap in 1964 and lived there the rest of his life, quickly earning his first award after tackling a man who was about to jump. At first he held back would-be jumpers whilst his wife summoned help, but then took to approaching them with his palms out and saying simply "Is there something I could do to help you?" Ritchie's "courage delivered small miracles," said Cr Susan Wynne, Mayor of Woollahra. National Australia Day Council's interim head Tam Johnston has issued a statement saying "Don's story touched the hearts of all Australians and challenged each of us to rethink what it means to be a good neighbour... Don was a true gentleman with a smile that could light up the room." Local politician Malcolm Turnbull , who united with Ritchie and mental health workers to demand suicide prevention measures at The Gap, said "His work lives on forever not just in the lives of those he saved but in his heroism and example of public service."
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Sydney
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Malcolm Turnbull