Jim Greenshields
2001 -
2003
THE
HISTORY OF THE NAROOMA DIVISION OF
THE
ROYAL VOLUNTEER COASTAL PATROL
Compiled by Clark Orman - 1996
updated and amended by Ian Scott - January, 2007
Henry
Ramage of Narooma Real Estate was the "prime mover" in establishing
the RVCP in Narooma, and the first meeting was held at the Ex-Serviceman's Club
in March,1982.
The
local Sergeant, Harry George, representing the Police Department, indicated that
he required the RVCP Constitution before approving the formation of our
Division. This was in line with his authority as senior police officer in the
District, and remains so today - throughout Australia, the Police Department is
in charge of all rescues, although this is now controlled by the NSW Water
Police from their Eden Base.
Neville
Gough was appointed as our first Divisional Commander, with Bob Ingleton his
second in command. Henry Ramage was Searchmaster and Barry Naismith, Radio
Officer.
Our
operations base was established at Riverside Caravan Park, and a 27Mhz radio was
acquired and installed. Barry and Pat Naismith were managing Riverside, and as
they were living on the premises, they were able to efficiently monitor a
24-hour service from this location. The first of our Patrol bases was "up
and running".
Barry
and Pat ran this operation on a seven day basis and their devotion and
commitment to this essential and demanding job enabled the Patrol to become
firmly established in our town - we were on our way!
Our
first VHF radio - a GMC - was purchased with donations from Limon & Nadin,
BP Service Station, Shell and Caltex garages. This valuable addition to our
Radio Room console was later complimented by the acquisition of a Wager HG set.
We were then able to implement a regular "hook-up" with Locksport
(Lakes Entrance) Coast Guard in the south, and Greenwell Point at the entrance
to the Shoalhaven river in the north, resulting in an up-to-the-minute exchange
of weather observations in the Far South Coast area.
The
Narooma Division was at this time dependent on the use of members' boats for
general routine duties, and several major rescues were successful due to the
support provided by Darryl Stuart, Lindsay Quonoey and Peter Tinson in their
"Cats".
Fundraising
became (and still is) an important part of our activities and our Patrol was
well supported by local residents and tourists. The establishment of a service
that provided "safety of life at sea" for our locals and tourists was
welcomed in an area renowned for game fishing, but vulnerable at times to rough
seas and difficult Bar conditions.
Lack
of any financial support from Government bodies posed a major problem, and still
does, and was an obstacle to the central and essential goal of acquiring our own
rescue vessel. The use of volunteers' boats ran into difficulties, mainly due to
the problems associated with insurance cover of private craft. Also of course,
Coastal Patrol crew training was non-existent without our own craft.
In
May 1987 we had approximately $7000 in hand, and discussions favoured the
purchase of a second-hand Shark Cat. Efforts were made to achieve this goal
without success - many inspections were carried out on vessels located as far
north as Sydney, but no suitable craft was found which was within our budget
range. The Patrol decided to "think big" and an approach was made to
the local branch of Westpac, which was successful, and so the decision was made
to purchase a new vessel.
Several
meetings and many, many hours of discussion later, an order was placed with
Kevlar-Cat at Maroochydore, Queensland, for a new Kevlar-Cat fitted with two 90
HP Johnson outboard motors mounted on pods,- the price - $33,000. The decision
to go for the Shark-Cat type of craft was mainly due to two factors; (1) most of
the major rescues up to this point had been successfully carried out
by
Shark-Cats, and (2) shallow-drafted vessels were considered better suited to the
conditions found crossing the Narooma Bar.
"Patrol
Rescue" as she was named, arrived by road on 17 July 1987, and following
some "fitting out
and shaking down", went into service later that year, and performed
great service to the boating community of Narooma for the next nine years, in
the process wearing out three sets of motors.
Early
in 1996, following much discussion, it was decided that a replacement vessel was
necessary and so "the hunt" was on again. A 9.6m Randall Flybridge
Cruiser, powered by twin Volvo Penta stern-drives, was purchased in Victoria and
was commissioned into service on 16 June 1996. Our trusty Kevlar-Cat was sold to
a local fisherman.
This
vessel, also named "Patrol Rescue", did sterling work for the Division
until, in mid-1999, the opportunity arose for the RVCP to purchase six 44ft.
Waveney class Lifeboats from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in the
United Kingdom, one of which was allocated to the Narooma Division, an offer we
were delighted to accept as this type of vessel is purpose-built to withstand
the heavy weather and rough seas so often experienced around Narooma.
Our
Randall was sold to a private buyer in NSW in October, and, following a
three-day voyage from Sydney, during which many of our crew members had the
opportunity to experience the "feel" of the new vessel at first hand,
"P & O - Nedlloyd Strathmore", as she was named, crossed the Bar
to her new home at 1500hrs. on Saturday 20 November, 1999 to a great welcome by
the local community.
The
Narooma Division has a record of which to be justifiably proud, and its
achievements have been twice recognised by the presentation of prestigious
awards-
July 1989 - RVCP Staff Officers Award - presented annually for the
most outstanding rescue effort of the year by an Individual or Division. To
Radio Operator Barry Naismith and "Patrol Rescue" crew Bert Elswick,
Kevin Simpson and John Arnold - for the rescue of a seriously ill crew member of
the Tall Ship "Derwent", in heavy seas, at night, 5nm south of
Bermagui. Because of the prevailing conditions, "Derwent" was unable
to enter Bermagui harbour. (It is interesting to note that this same award was
presented the following year to our sister RVCP Division - Batemans Bay)
1990-1991 - The Sieglinde Trophy - presented annually for
"The most efficient boat and crew" selected by inspection, and without
notice, from all voluntary sea-rescue organizations Australia-wide.
We can also be proud of the quality of leadership shown by our Divisional Commanders over the years.
In
1982, our first year of operations, our Divisional Commander was Neville Gough
followed
by -
Bert Elswick
Darryl Stuart
Kevin Simpson
Clark Orman
Cliff Kellet
Phil Kellerman
Alan Wood
Neville Bickford
Peter Dillon
Neville Bickford
Jim Greenshields
2001 -
2003
John
Johansen
2003 - 2004
Ian
Scott
2004 -
2007
Since
the formation of the Narooma Division we have had seven operational bases. They
are listed here as a tribute to all of our Patrol members who gave so generously
of their time and talents to overcome the many difficulties associated with each
move - relocating and setting up our equipment each time was a difficult and
demanding task.
1.
Riverside Van Park
2.
Van Village
3.
Baldwin St. Kianga
4.
Montague St. Kianga
5.
Narooma Surf Club
6.
RVCP Caravan, Riverside Van Park
7.
The Pilot Station, Narooma
The
old Pilot Station building is now well and truly "home", having had
substantial structural alterations to include additional windows in the
dedicated radio room, which give panoramic views over the Bar and the entrance
to Wagonga Inlet. An operations console housing nine (9) radios of various types
(27 Mhz, VHF, UHF and MF/HF) has been installed, together with a number of radio
aerials which have given us greatly improved reception.
The
building also provides our Division with room to hold lectures, mess meetings,
training etc., and is at times also used by other local organisations for
training purposes. It is fully equipped as a Search and Rescue Co-ordination
Centre as proscribed by the State Rescue Board.
The
removal of a considerable amount of trees and shrubbery by the Eurobodalla Shire
Council has markedly improved visibility to Montague Island and the channel.
In
late 2003 we were fortunate to receive a grant from the Federal Government for
the purpose of installing air conditioning at the base. Installation of two
units in the Radio Room and Meeting/Lecture Room was completed in February,
2004.
In
2006 the Radio Room was refurbished with the replacement of storage cabinets and
the inclusion of dedicated computer stations. Our Internet connection was also
upgraded to Broadband.
Hopefully,
"seven" may be our lucky number and the Pilot Station will remain our
Headquarters and Patrol Base as we rush headlong into the third millennium.
After
many years of negotiations and requests to the Department of Lands for a
permanent berth for our Lifeboat at the Narooma Town Wharf, in January 2007 we
were finally successful. This new arrangement will speed up our response times
by around 15 minutes, time that can be critical in an emergency. We will,
however, maintain our berth at Mill Bay for future use hopefully for a
second (smaller) vessel.
Our
partners in Bar rescues, the VRA, have also finally been successful in finding a
new home, and will shortly commence building their new base at the rear of
the Pilot Cottage.
March
2007 marks the 25th. Anniversary of service to the Narooma community
by the RVCP.
---------------------ooOoo-------------------
Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, Narooma Division
Pilot Station,
Bar Rock Rd., Narooma
P.O.Box 315,
Narooma 2546
PhoneNo.
(02) 4476 1443 Fax No. (02) 4476 3228
