On July 30, 1986, 114 False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens), stranded on Dukes Head Beach, Augusta (34°19′30″S, 115°10′E) in the extreme south-west of Western Australia. Over the ensuing three days 96 whales were returned to the sea, but the remaining 18 died. The rescue employed and developed existing techniques, tested options and employed new techniques. It involved mechanically lifting whales on to trucks and alongside boats, transport to a sheltered cove followed by the use of various surf-boards to coax them into deep water. Success is attributed to early notification, availability of resources and equipment, experience from previous strandings, an efficient overall control organization and the contributions of both government employees and volunteers. Just as no single factor can be isolated as the cause of this stranding, the success of the rescue cannot be attributed to any single factor. Rather it was a combination of a wide range of factors