The Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol is the oldest maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) organisation in Australia and the largest SAR unit in NSW. The Patrol began from a talk between three men, Maurice Blackwood, Harold Nobbs and Bill Giles. They discussed the idea with a good friend, Commander Rupert Long, the then director of Naval Intelligence. The concept was to have a body of experienced merchantmen and yachtsmen as an auxiliary to the Navy and Government maritime authorities. Commander Long presented the concept to the Naval Board who agreed. Volunteer Coastal Patrol was founded on 27 March 1937 .
The organisation structure, ranks and discipline were based on Navy lines and the first Commanding Officer was Captain Maurice Blackwood, DSO, RN with Harold Nobbs and Bill Giles as Senior Officers. The training was taken from Admiralty courses, enabling members to progress to higher ranks. Most of the instructors in those early days were Naval personnel who donated their 'off duty' time. Coastal Patrol members used their own boats for Coastal Patrol duties.
With the outbreak of war the members enthusiastically entered a period of rapid expansion and training. The first task allotted to Volunteer Coastal Patrol in 1939 was to establish a security watch on the Hawkesbury River bridge, a vital rail link with the north. Training was stepped up with a course from the Police and Maritime Services Board (MSB). The Patrol was also appointed 'The Water Police Reserve', and the 'Sydney Harbour Patrol' under the MSB. The Patrol was part of the ' Newcastle to Port Kembla Covering Force' under General Studie. They exercised with numerous Army units during that time.
Capt. Blackwood retired as CO to become Commodore of Convoys and Harold Nobbs was appointed as the next CO. In those early days sole control was vested in the Commanding Officer. It was not until 1951 with the election of a Board of Directors (The Council) that members had a say in how the organisation would progress. During World War 2, Coastal Patrol had over 2000 members in three states, with 500 small craft operational. The HQ was at Neutral Bay , in 'Craig Nethan', once the home of Ben Boyd.
After the war it was felt that the organisation could be of considerable use as an marine education and SAR facility for the increasing numbers of the community participating in recreational boating. The first Patron of the Patrol (1959-1965) was Rear Admiral HJ Buchanan, CBE, DSO. He was followed by (1966-1984) Major General Sir Denzil Macarthur-Onslow CBE, DSO, ED, CMF. Currently the Patron in Chief is His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, and the patron is the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot, KBE, AO, RAN. The Coastal Patrol was granted Royal patronage by Her Majesty the Queen in 1973. Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol is a member of the International Lifeboat Conference, and the Patrol has represented Australia at several of these conferences. Coastal Patrol maintains close touch with other maritime rescue organisations throughout the world to find solutions to the common problems confronting all maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) units.
For localised information on RVCP divisions see the different Marine Watch pages via the Site Map
LWL - 12.2M
Beam - 3.86M
Twin CAT 3208 Diesel
Fuel - 2 X 500L
Reserve - 350L
Cruise - 10K
Crew - 4 to 6
NSW RESCUE / COAST RADIO STATIONS
( FROM NORTH to SOUTH )
| Coastguard - Kingscliff |
| Coastal Patrol - Byron Bay |
| Coast Guard - Ballina |
| Coast Guard Evans - Head |
| Coast Guard - Iluka / Yamba |
| Volunteer Rescue - Wooli |
| Coastal Patrol - Coffs Harbour |
| Harbour Master - Lord Howe Island |
| Coastal Patrol - Trial Bay |
| Volunteer Rescue - Port Macquarie |
| Volunteer Rescue - Camden Haven |
| Coastal Patrol Crowdy - Old Bar |
| Coastal Patrol Forster - Tuncurry |
| Coast Patrol - Port Stephens |
| Coast Guard - Port Stephens |
| Coastal Patrol - Newcastle |
| Coast Guard - Swansea |
| Coastal Patrol - Lake Macguarie |
| Search & Rescue - Norah Head |
| Coastal Patrol - Tuggerah Lakes |
| Coastal Patrol - Terrigal |
| Sea Rescue - Terrigal |
| Coastal Patrol - Central Coast |
| Coastal Patrol - Hawkesbury |
| Coastal Patrol - Broken Bay |
| Coast Guard - Cottage Pt |
| Coastal Patrol - Terry Hills Radcen |
| Coast Guard - Sydney (Sth. Head) |
| 02 6674 2451 |
| 02 6680 8471 |
| 02 6686 4957 |
| 02 6682 4888 |
| 02 6646 6311 |
| 02 6649 7546 |
| 02 6652 3155 |
| 02 6563 2266 |
| 02 6566 5240 |
| 02 6584 1966 |
| 02 6559 9713 |
| 02 6553 7323 |
| 02 6554 5458 |
| 02 4981 3585 |
| 02 4982 4981 |
| 02 4927 8237 |
| 02 4971 3498 |
| 02 4971 3723 |
| 02 4396 6162 |
| 02 4397 2411 |
| 02 4384 5577 |
| 02 4384 3606 |
| 02 4325 7929 |
| 02 9985 9012 |
| 02 9999 3554 |
| 02 9456 3055 |
| 02 9450 2468 |
| 02 9337 5033 |
| Coast Guard Sydney (Birkenhead); |
| Coastal Patrol Port Jackson; |
| Coastal Patrol Sydney Metro; |
| Coastal Patrol Botany Bay; |
| Coast Guard - Botany Bay |
| Coast Guard - Port Hacking |
| Coast Guard - Bellambi |
| Coastal Patrol - Wollongong |
| Coast Guard - Port Kembla |
| Coast Guard - Lake Illawarra |
| Coast Guard - Shellharbour |
| Volunteer Rescue - Kiama |
| Volunteer Rescue - Shoalhaven |
| Coastal Patrol - Shoalhaven |
| Coastal Patrol - Jervis Bay |
| Volunteer Rescue - Jervis Bay |
| Coastal Patrol - Sussex Inlet |
| Coastal Patrol - Ulladulla |
| Coastal Patrol - Kioloa |
| Coastal Patrol - Batemans Bay |
| Coastal Patrol - Moruya |
| Volunteer Rescue - Tuross |
| Coastal Patrol - Narooma |
| Volunteer Rescue - Narooma |
| Coast Guard - Bermagui |
| Coastal Patrol - Merimbula |
| Coastal Patrol - Eden |
| 02 9337 5033 |
| 02 9969 3270 |
| 02 9311 1108 |
| 02 9567 7113 |
| 02 9524 0666 |
| 02 9524 0666 |
| 02 4284 8822 |
| 02 4229 3434 |
| 02 4274 4455 |
| 02 4297 8256 |
| 02 4297 3999 |
| 02 4433 2025 |
| 02 4447 4466 |
| 02 4448 8050 |
| 018 423 066 |
| 02 4447 1444 |
| 02 4441 1444 |
| 02 4455 3403 |
| 02 4457 1109 |
| 02 4472 3060 |
| 02 4474 2770 |
| 02 4473 8111 |
| 02 4476 1443 |
| 02 4476 4609 |
| 02 4474 2770 |
| 02 4476 1443 |
| 02 6496 2167 |
Australia, the worlds largest island, has a coastline of 19,650 kilometres (12,210 miles). 90% of Australia's population of 17.5 million live within 120km of the coast and over 70% live in the coastal belt from Cairns in Queensland to Adelaide in South Australia. Flotillas and radio bases are located from the Skardon River in the Gulf of Carpentaria, down the eastern sea board to Ceduna in South Australia, including Tasmania and major inland lakes and weirs. Expansion is continuing in areas of need.
The AVCG and affiliation owned resources in these areas include:
95 rescue boats
147 radio bases under the control of 63 flotillas
30 communication and display vans
4 fixed wing aircraft
Qualified divers
Radio Monitoring
Each flotilla has radio facilities monitoring many of the marine distress frequencies including 27.88
Safety Patrols
Association and member owned vessels patrol our waterways assisting the public with safe boating advice, mechanical problems and responding to distress calls when they occur. All rescue vessels are on 24 hour standby.
Search and Rescue
Coast Guard works closely with the various State Water Police authorities and other volunteer rescue organisations in search and rescue operations.
NRMA CareFlight operates four integrated services:
1. A state-wide emergency service with the twin-engine
Bell 412HP equipped with rescue hoist, searchlight and the ability to carry
two intensive care patients or up to four stretcher patients, based at Westmead.
2. A Central West regional service with an Agusta
A119 Koala, based in Orange.
3. CareFlight’s own trauma and medical retrieval
doctors providing a state-wide service from Sydney.
4. An international medical retrieval and repatriation
service, using CareFlight's own medical team.
CareFlight doctors are trained in critical care medicine to deliver intensive care to patients of all ages, wherever they may be located within NSW.
CareFlight medical teams are able to respond by helicopter, road ambulance and fixed wing air ambulance aircraft, depending on the circumstances. Over 10,000 patients have been treated and transported over the past 16 years.
At least two CareFlight medical teams are on rostered duty, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
NRMA CareFlight can be called out by NSW Ambulance Service and also by Police, Fire, Australian Search and Rescue, other emergency services and hospitals.
CareFlight is a non-profit organisation, a
registered charity and is proud to be rated as a Public Benevolent Institution.
While CareFlight provides its services without cost to all patients, the service
costs over $7 million annually to staff, equip and operate around the clock.
Most of this money comes from fund raising activities and donations from the
public
Donations can be sent to PO Box 159, Westmead,
NSW, 2154
All pilots employed by CareFlight have extensive experience. Mandatory criteria for employment include: commercial pilots licence (helicopter), 3000 hours as a pilot-in-command, 500 hours experience in turbine engine helicopters, a command instrument rating, and night flying experience. In addition the following criteria are preferable : winch operations experience, low flying experience and EMS experience.
The Air crewman has a varying job role on the helicopter. This includes mission co-ordination, Co-pilot duties (non pilot qualified) assisting the pilot throughout all aspects of flight. Radio liaison with Emergency Services and assisting the CareFlight doctor and paramedic at the scene of an accident or during a medical retrieval of a patient from the hospital. The Air crewman's primary responsibility is that of the hoist operator where he co-ordinates the lowering of the paramedic and doctor at a scene which could be an injured bushwalker in a canyon in the Blue Mountains or the rescue (paramedic only) of a survivor of an overturned vessel out to sea.
The doctors employed by CareFlight are all specialists in the fields of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care or Emergency Medicine. These doctors are employed part time and thus also work as Anaesthetists, Intensive Care or Emergency Physicians in various Sydney teaching hospitals. In addition, CareFlight employs four senior registrars who are in their final years of post-graduate training in these specialties. These doctors are employed full time for a period of six months. This six months is accredited by the relevant specialty colleges, and CareFlight is currently the only non-hospital organisation in Australia to have this accreditation. CareFlight doctors are also actively engaged in medical research into many aspects of pre-hospital and transport care of the critically ill and injured. Combine this with the medical specialist teaching accreditation and CareFlight is a teaching hospital without walls.
Paramedics
The paramedics from the NSW Ambulance Service were introduced to the
CareFlight operations in 1989. Since that time they have become an integral
component of both flight and medical teams. The paramedics at CareFlight are
all senior officers with a minimum of ten years experience in ambulance pre-hospital
care. All are members of the Special Casualty Access Team (SCAT). Training
for SCAT requires senior paramedics to complete an intensive five weeks of
instruction and assessment in topics such as:
Advanced Roping, Navigation,
Bushcraft and Survival, Caving and
Confined Spaces, Aquatic Rescue Skills, Mountain
River Canyoning, Self Contained Breathing Apparatus
(SCBA), Chemical, Biological and Radiation
(CBR), Contamination Familiarisation and Four
Wheel Driving (4WD) Skills
It's the Paramedics wealth of pre-hospital expertise that CareFlight
draws on to couple with the wide variety of clinical specialties of their
Doctors that ensures only the highest quality of care is provided to all their
patients regardless of location or medical condition.
The State Emergency Service is an emergency and rescue service dedicated to assisting the community. It is made up almost entirely of volunteers, with more than 230 Units located throughout New South Wales. The Units comprise more than 9,000 volunteer members, who are easily identified by their distinctive orange overalls.
While the major responsibilities are for flood and storm operations, the SES also provides the majority of general rescue effort in the rural parts of the state. This includes road accident rescue, vertical rescue, bush search and rescue and other forms of specialist rescue that may be required due to local threats. The Service's trained rescuers also support the full-time emergency services during major disasters.
HISTORY The State Emergency Services (as it was then known) was formed in April 1955, following disastrous floods across NSW that had caused substantial loss of life and massive damage to property. The government of the day recognised the need for a body of trained and disciplined volunteers with good local knowledge who would be available at short notice to help the community during such disasters. Later the same year, in view of the tense world situation at the time, the government decided there was a need for a civil defence organisation in the event of a nuclear attack. In September 1955, the two organisations merged under the leadership of Major General (later Sir) Ivan Dougherty. The new organisation was known as Civil Defence. In 1972, the State Emergency Services and Civil Defence Act was passed by Parliament. This Act remained in force until 1989, when it was replaced by the State Emergency Service Act. |
GUARANTEE OF SERVICE The mission is to provide immediate assistance to the community in times of natural or man-made incidents or emergencies. Flood and storm threats are the most costly natural hazards the community of New South Wales faces. In response to this, the SES: # Prepares flood plans for communities at risk. Assists the Bureau of Meteorology in developing and disseminating official flood and storm warnings. Translates official flood warnings into likely effects and disseminates that information. Evacuates people whose properties are threatened or made uninhabitable due to floods or storms. Rescues people who are endangered, trapped or injured by floods or storms. Resupplies communities and individuals who are isolated due to flooding. Minimises damage to properties affected by floods or storms. Coordinates immediate welfare requirements for affected communities, in conjunction with the Department of Community Services. # Undertakes public education to ensure that those at risk know what they should do to protect themselves and their property. The SES also provides rescue services and supports other agencies: * Units accredited for general rescue respond according to established policy. Units maintain a disaster rescue capability. * Units also assist, at their request, the Police Service, the NSW Fire Brigades, the Rural Fire Service and the Ambulance Service in dealing with any incident or emergency. |
STRUCTURE The NSW State Emergency Service consists of its headquarters, staffed by 34 permanent officers, 18 Divisions (three in the Sydney metropolitan area and 15 elsewhere in the state) and more than 230 Units. Divisions are groupings of Units, based generally on major river systems. Control in each Division is exercised by a Division Controller, who is supported by an Executive Officer and an Administrative Officer. There are also volunteers on the staff of each Division Headquarters, who assist in running operations and conducting training. SES Units are made up entirely of volunteers. They are based on council areas. Each unit has its own headquarters, and its personnel are trained and equipped to meet the tasks required by its particular environment. As the combat agency for floods, the SES has a network of flood gauge readers along the rivers. These volunteers provide a valuable service by reading river and stream heights in their local areas, assisting in the accurate prediction of flood levels. The SES has established a special team to assist in the management of flooding on the Hawkesbury-Nepean river system from Penrith to the coast. |
VOLUNTEERS Volunteers are the lifeblood of the State Emergency Service, and we pride ourselves on being able to accommodate both the young and those with more experience. We can invariably find a rewarding position for anyone who is willing to give up their time to help the community. SES Units are always looking for volunteers to work in the field and to assist in managing operations, communications, media and community education. Phone 1 800 201 000 for more information on volunteering. |
TRAINING SES volunteers are trained to national standards in a wide range of skills. There are two main training streams: rescue and headquarters. Rescue personnel are trained in first aid and general rescue techniques, and the other skills needed to deal with specific local threats. Headquarters personnel are trained to manage operations and logistics, as well as to work with the media and coordinate community education activities. Training within Units is conducted by skilled volunteer instructors, who are supported, where necessary, by permanent officers. Most Units train weekly, and conduct weekend exercises several times throughout the year. |
EQUIPMENT It is not uncommon for a single Unit to have equipment valued at well over $150,000. Major equipment includes vehicles, flood boats, emergency lighting, hydraulic rescue sets and radios, as well as many other items that may be required in rescue situations. Funding comes from a variety of sources. The state government provides the major proportion; some local councils contribute, and a large amount is raised through donations or from Unit fundraising activities. |
RECOGNITION In recognition of the contribution made to the community by State Emergency Service volunteers, the Commonwealth government approved the award of the National Medal in 1987 and the Emergency Services Medal in 1999. The State Emergency Service provides an invaluable service to the people of New South Wales in times of emergency. The volunteers are well trained and stand ready to assist at a moment's notice, often in difficult and dangerous situations. They welcome community support for their activities and encourage recruitment of new volunteers. |
QUALITY OF SERVICE State Emergency Service Units are community-based so they can provide a timely local response. SES officers are available to provide advice on dealing with floods and storms at State, Division and Unit levels. As part of the commitment to providing a quality service to the people of New South Wales, the SES has established the following procedures: * State Headquarters and all 18 Division Headquarters will be contactable during normal office hours and have after- hours duty systems providing 24-hour emergency contact. * Wherever possible, all Units accredited for general rescue are equipped with call-out systems. |
For emergency help relating to a flood or storm, please call your local SES Unit on |
