Australia Day Honours for two marine rescue volunteers

Commodore Mike Stringer ESM OAM, of Narrabeen, a member of the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol for 37 years and now one of the nine original directors of the unified Marine Rescue NSW, has been honoured as a Member (AM) in the Order of Australia in the 2010 Australia Day honours list.

In the north of the state, Commodore Peter Campton of the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard North NSW Squadron was awarded the Emergency Services Medal (ESM).

Fittingly, Commodore Stringer spent Australia Day actively involved overseeing months of planning for Marine Rescue NSW’s part in Sydney’s annual celebrations on Sydney Harbour. The planning task for this year not only included the co-ordination of crews and rescue vessels from Marine Rescue NSW to assist NSW Maritime and Water police with crowd control throughout the day’s packed program of events, but also his participation in the Darling Harbour evening Spectacular that paid tribute to the volunteers of Marine Rescue NSW.

Mike said “I am only one of more than 2,500 dedicated marine rescue volunteers who form the great critical mass that comprise Marine Rescue NSW and who dedicate themselves to providing 24/7 service to the boating public of NSW. I regard this honour as recognition as much for all of my colleagues as it is for me.”

“The establishment of Marine Rescue NSW could not have happened without the support and work of a number of dedicated people, three of whom deserve particular acknowledgement; Peter Phillipson of the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, whose tireless leadership was, I believe, the single most important factor in achieving the goal of a single, unified marine rescue service for NSW; and both Glenn Finniss of NSW Police Marine Area Command and Brett Moore, NSW Maritime Authority, who have shared the vision of a single organization knowing it is the right decision for the busiest boating state in Australia.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to remind the boating public,” he said, “that while Marine Rescue NSW has welcome additional support from the NSW Government, in order to maintain the standard of service that is expected by the public, it will still need to raise at least half of the capital and operational funding needed from donations, sponsors and bequests.”

Commodore Peter Campton ESM, has worked tirelessly for over twenty years providing marine and land volunteer rescue services for the NSW Northern Rivers community as member of both the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard and the NSW State Emergency Service (SES).