Coast guards in Australia
Encyclopedia
Australia
, with 19,650 kilometres of coastline does not have a force purely to defend its coast. The duty of patrolling the Australian coastline falls to the Royal Australian Navy
, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (through its Coastwatch division), and the Police
services of the states
. In addition, there are several private volunteer coast guard
organisations, the two largest rival organisations being the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol (established in 1937 as the Volunteer Coastal Patrol) and the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard (established in 1961). These volunteer organisations have no law enforcement powers, but are essentially auxiliary Search and Rescue
services. In July 2009 the three organisations (Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, Australian Volunteer Coast Guard and some units of the Volunteer Rescue Association's Marine Branch) united under the government sponsored Marine Rescue NSW.
The Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association is Australia’s largest and only national volunteer marine rescue organisation. Established in 1961, and modelled on the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Association is an organisation composed entirely of volunteers. It guards the coast in the most effective way - initially by education, example, examination and finally by search and rescue.
The Australian Volunteer Coast Guard has no law enforcement powers and enjoys a reputation for being helpful and courteous to all boat owners.
Australia, the world’s largest island, has a coastline of nearly 20 000 km. (12 200 miles). 90% of Australia's population of 22 million live within 120 km 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 seaboard to Ceduna in South Australia, including Tasmania and major inland lakes and weirs. Coast Guard currently has more than 2,500 Regular members and 9,000 Associate members. Expansion is continuing in areas of need.
Coast Guard resources across Australia include:
Coast Guard services include:
Covering Boat license testing and safe boating seminars [where applicable]
Basic Seamanship, Marine Radio Procedures, Navigation and Bar Crossing
• Training
Coast Guard is the only dedicated marine rescue Registered Training Organization with courses accredited nationally
• 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.
• Radio Monitoring
Each flotilla has radio facilities monitoring marine distress frequencies including VHF Channel 16, 27 MHz Channel 88 and HF band 2182 kHz.
• Log On – Log Off
Coast Guard Radio Bases will keep track of recreational boaters whilst on a coastal passage or moving in and out of the same port
• Search & Rescue
Coast Guard works closely with the State Water Police and other volunteer rescue organisations in search and rescue operations
For further information, visit http://www.coastguard.com.au
yachtsmen and a proposal sent to the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board
that a Volunteer Coastal Patrol be established under the command of Captain Blackwood. The Naval Board supported this and on the 27 March 1937 the Volunteer Coastal Patrol was established under the command of Captain Blackwood, DSO, RN (rtd) with H.W.G. Nobbs as Staff Officer Operations and W Giles as Staff Officer Administration.
During World War II
Coastal Patrol members became special constables and guarded commercial wharves, oil installations and bridges. By the war's end, patrol vessels had patrolled 128,000 miles of harbour and coastal waters and donated 393,000 man-hours of unpaid war service. They were granted the right to fly the Police Nemesis pennant as recognition of this service and the right to fly the New South Wales
State Flag as their ensign.
Post war development saw the Patrol undertake civilian search and rescue operations as their primary role but maintain their original Royal Australian Navy inspired organisation structure, ranks and uniform. 1955 saw a democratically elected council formed which directed the development and administration of the Patrol and appointed the Officer Commanding. 1963 saw the Patrol become an incorporated company and the articles of association written. In 1974, Her Majesty the Queen
granted the Patrol the privilege of adding the Royal prefix to its title when it became the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol.
Today the Patrol works closely with all government agencies in search and rescue and education to the boating public. They maintain constant watch in Radio Bases for marine traffic, work with the Water Police in search and rescue as well as crowd control at major maritime events, run education classes in seamanship, navigation, first aid and meteorology for the public as well as providing constant information to Radio Stations and TV stations regarding sea conditions etc.
All members of the Patrol are volunteers with a large proportion of their time devoted to fund raising to purchase the latest equipment and vessels.
, and the declaration of the War on Terrorism
, in 2001 Kim Beazley
announced that the Australian Labor Party
, if in government, would establish an Australian Coast Guard "responsible for conducting Australia's coastal surveillance and meeting Australia's maritime protection needs, including in relation to illegal immigration, drugs, fisheries, and quarantine-related issues". This plan met with criticism. Peter Reith
criticised Beazley for stating that an Australian Coast Guard both will and will not be an "answer to the question of people smuggling". The plan was criticised by the Australian government, on the grounds that it would either be prohibitively expensive or inadequate to the task. Later, the motives for the establishment of an Australian Coast Guard, where interpreted by some as "a plan to extend the capabilities of the Australian Federal Police
."
In November 2008 the NSW Government announced the establishment of a new volunteer marine rescue organisation to be called Marine Rescue NSW. In July 2009 the three organisations united under the new organisation.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with 19,650 kilometres of coastline does not have a force purely to defend its coast. The duty of patrolling the Australian coastline falls to the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (through its Coastwatch division), and the Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
services of the states
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
. In addition, there are several private volunteer coast guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
organisations, the two largest rival organisations being the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol (established in 1937 as the Volunteer Coastal Patrol) and the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard (established in 1961). These volunteer organisations have no law enforcement powers, but are essentially auxiliary Search and Rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
services. In July 2009 the three organisations (Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, Australian Volunteer Coast Guard and some units of the Volunteer Rescue Association's Marine Branch) united under the government sponsored Marine Rescue NSW.
Australian Volunteer Coast Guard
The Australian Volunteer Coast Guard has no law enforcement powers and enjoys a reputation for being helpful and courteous to all boat owners.
Australia, the world’s largest island, has a coastline of nearly 20 000 km. (12 200 miles). 90% of Australia's population of 22 million live within 120 km 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 seaboard to Ceduna in South Australia, including Tasmania and major inland lakes and weirs. Coast Guard currently has more than 2,500 Regular members and 9,000 Associate members. Expansion is continuing in areas of need.
Coast Guard resources across Australia include:
- 107 Association-owned rescue vessels
- 147 radio bases under the control of 72 local flotillas
- 30 communication and display vans and 4WD vehicles
- Registered Training Organisations delivering competency based training
- Formal affiliations and collaborations with similar organisations in Australia, New Zealand, North America, the Philippines and Europe.
Coast Guard services include:
- Public Education Courses
Covering Boat license testing and safe boating seminars [where applicable]
Basic Seamanship, Marine Radio Procedures, Navigation and Bar Crossing
• Training
Coast Guard is the only dedicated marine rescue Registered Training Organization with courses accredited nationally
• 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.
• Radio Monitoring
Each flotilla has radio facilities monitoring marine distress frequencies including VHF Channel 16, 27 MHz Channel 88 and HF band 2182 kHz.
• Log On – Log Off
Coast Guard Radio Bases will keep track of recreational boaters whilst on a coastal passage or moving in and out of the same port
• Search & Rescue
Coast Guard works closely with the State Water Police and other volunteer rescue organisations in search and rescue operations
For further information, visit http://www.coastguard.com.au
Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol
In 1936 Commander Rupert Long, OBE, RAN, Director of Naval Intelligence raised with retired Captain Maurice Blackwood, DSO, RN the possibility of raising a group of trained yachtsmen as a Naval Auxiliary Service. Discussions were held with HWG Nobbs and W Giles, both SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
yachtsmen and a proposal sent to the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board
Australian Commonwealth Naval Board
The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board was the governing authority over the Royal Australian Navy from its inception and through World Wars I and II. The board was established on 1 March 1911 and consisted of civilian members of the Australian government as well as naval flag officers....
that a Volunteer Coastal Patrol be established under the command of Captain Blackwood. The Naval Board supported this and on the 27 March 1937 the Volunteer Coastal Patrol was established under the command of Captain Blackwood, DSO, RN (rtd) with H.W.G. Nobbs as Staff Officer Operations and W Giles as Staff Officer Administration.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Coastal Patrol members became special constables and guarded commercial wharves, oil installations and bridges. By the war's end, patrol vessels had patrolled 128,000 miles of harbour and coastal waters and donated 393,000 man-hours of unpaid war service. They were granted the right to fly the Police Nemesis pennant as recognition of this service and the right to fly the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
State Flag as their ensign.
Post war development saw the Patrol undertake civilian search and rescue operations as their primary role but maintain their original Royal Australian Navy inspired organisation structure, ranks and uniform. 1955 saw a democratically elected council formed which directed the development and administration of the Patrol and appointed the Officer Commanding. 1963 saw the Patrol become an incorporated company and the articles of association written. In 1974, Her Majesty the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
granted the Patrol the privilege of adding the Royal prefix to its title when it became the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol.
Today the Patrol works closely with all government agencies in search and rescue and education to the boating public. They maintain constant watch in Radio Bases for marine traffic, work with the Water Police in search and rescue as well as crowd control at major maritime events, run education classes in seamanship, navigation, first aid and meteorology for the public as well as providing constant information to Radio Stations and TV stations regarding sea conditions etc.
All members of the Patrol are volunteers with a large proportion of their time devoted to fund raising to purchase the latest equipment and vessels.
Efforts to create a single Australian Coast Guard
After the Tampa affairTampa affair
In August 2001, the Howard Government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 438 rescued Afghans from a distressed fishing vessel in international waters, to enter Australian waters...
, and the declaration of the War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, in 2001 Kim Beazley
Kim Beazley
In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....
announced that the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, if in government, would establish an Australian Coast Guard "responsible for conducting Australia's coastal surveillance and meeting Australia's maritime protection needs, including in relation to illegal immigration, drugs, fisheries, and quarantine-related issues". This plan met with criticism. Peter Reith
Peter Reith
Peter Keaston Reith, , former Australian politician, was a Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and then a senior Cabinet minister in the first two terms of the Howard Government.-Early life:...
criticised Beazley for stating that an Australian Coast Guard both will and will not be an "answer to the question of people smuggling". The plan was criticised by the Australian government, on the grounds that it would either be prohibitively expensive or inadequate to the task. Later, the motives for the establishment of an Australian Coast Guard, where interpreted by some as "a plan to extend the capabilities of the Australian Federal Police
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
."
In November 2008 the NSW Government announced the establishment of a new volunteer marine rescue organisation to be called Marine Rescue NSW. In July 2009 the three organisations united under the new organisation.