SAVING LIVES AT SEA

Who we are

Over 344 volunteers around the Southern Region make up Coastguard’s unpaid professional workforce.

Our skilled and highly trained volunteers are from all walks of life, across many professions and span a wide age range. But we all have two special attributes in common.

We love the water and being out on it.

We want to do the right thing. Saving the lives of the people in our community is the most valuable and worthwhile contribution we can make to society.

We gave 52,774 hours of time last year to make sure that local boaties and other water users can enjoy the magnificent coastline and waterways that we have, secure in the knowledge that should anything go wrong Coastguard will be there to help.

Our People

“I don’t do this to be rewarded”

We are know as heroes on the water… but the word ‘hero’ is one we tend to shy away from. It’s a great feeling to know that you have saved a life, but, in typical kiwi fashion, we prefer to remain humble about it. Maybe, ‘quiet achievers’ is a good description of the way we prefer to be acknowledged.

Coastguard’s training regime equips us with valuable skills that include seamanship, boat handling, navigation and leadership. We are constantly challenged out of our comfort zone, both physically and mentally. As a team we make lifelong friends with the people we serve alongside. The regard we have for each other and from the people we rescue is worth more to us than financial reward.

Our Community Promise

The people we serve are part of our community, whether they are locals or not.

Our promise is a simple formula established by being Respectful, Dedicated and Kiwi. Its is built on a platform of doing the right thing because its our human duty to do so. It embodies trust from the communities we serve. And its is worded in a way that is simple, single minded and unmistakable.

Coastguards’ Community Promise is: Saving lives at sea

NZ Charities Commission Registration CC39454