Final heroic act of doctor mauled to death by a crocodile in front of his family while caravanning around Queensland

A doctor who was mauled by a crocodile let go of his wife’s hand when she tried to save him, so she would not be dragged into the water with him.

Dave Hogbin, 40, was walking along the Annan River, south of Cooktown in Far North Queensland, with his wife Jane and their three children Isaac, 7, Max, 5, and Joey, 3, on August 2 when the bank collapsed.

Mr. Hogbin fell into the river and was attacked by a nearby crocodile.

Mrs. Hogbin heard a splash and ran down the bank to pull her husband out of the water.

However, the bank was so steep and slippery that she could only grab his arm and risked falling into the water herself.

During the horrific attack and rescue attempt, Mr Hogbin spoke his last words to his wife: ‘Stop, you’ll fall in too.’

“It’s all still so surreal, the position he was in,” Mrs Hogbin told the Courier post on sunday.

“The danger I was in and that one of us could get out of it.”

Mr Hogbin’s wife Jane (pictured with their three sons) revealed that he let go of her hand when she tried to pull him away from the crocodile, saving her life

The family of five had left Newcastle and were on a month-long holiday travelling around the Sunshine State in a caravan when the attack occurred.

Isaac, Max and Joey were with their parents when their father fell off the riverbank. They were protected from the attack by their aunt and uncle.

Mrs. Hogbin and her three sons celebrated their first Father’s Day without Mr. Hogbin two weeks ago.

Mrs. Hogbin remembers him as a dedicated adventurer and a wonderful father.

The family went on a caravan trip every two weeks, which Mr Hogbin planned and prepared down to the last detail.

It was his dream to travel to Far North Queensland.

Mrs Hogbin decided to keep all the family’s camping and caravanning equipment, but she couldn’t bring herself to travel without her husband.

The couple were married for 10 years and together for 13 years.

They met after Mrs. Hogbin moved to his parents’ home on the Central Coast to attend college.

Both later laughed about the fact that Mrs Hogbin lived with Mr Hogbin’s sister and parents ‘before (she) even met him’.

Mrs Hogbin described her sons as resilient as they searched for a “new normal” after their father’s death.

The proceeds of more than $160,000 for the family allowed Mrs. Hogbin to support her children after the death of their father (pictured feeding a crocodile near the scene of the attack, shortly after Mr. Hogbin’s death).

Although Father’s Day was a difficult day for the boys, they had the full support of their extended family, with their uncles accompanying them to school events.

Mrs. Hogbin is still trying to look at photos of Mr. Hogbin.

“What really breaks my heart is that he was such a great father and his sons truly adored him. I feel so bad for them that they don’t remember much of who their father was to them,” she said.

Mrs. Hogbin is extremely grateful for the more than $160,000 she raised for her family through a GoFundMe campaign.

This gives her the flexibility to take time off from work while her family processes their grief.

“I know the boys definitely appreciate that… If they have a bad day at school, I can pick them up right away and we can be together,” she said.