Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Rescue earns rookies citation

By Lin Ferguson
Whanganui Chronicle·
26 Feb, 2013 05:53 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Four young Rangitikei College students will be presented with national citations by Surf Life Saving NZ to recognise their involvement in an outstanding rescue.

The students have been trained by David Pontin, who teaches mathematics and science at the college, and is patrol captain of the Palmerston North Surf Life Saving Club at Himatangi Beach.

The four rookie guards were part of the dramatic search and rescue on January 5, when 27-year-old Feilding man Jarrett Simeon drowned.

For two of them it was their first volunteer duty at the beach, Mr Pontin said.

"And they did a remarkable job ... Talk about baptism by fire."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Surf Life Saving team started at the college only last year, when Mr Pontin moved from Christchurch.

It was now one of the school's recognised sports teams, thanks to principal Karene Biggs, he said.

"Which means we have the use of the school sports van to get to training at the club twice a week and for our volunteer duties."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They [the students] can go the hard yards in everything from sport to the classroom, and they all display a totally professional attitude now, and they have fantastic co-ordination and discipline."

To try out for the team, they had to swim 400m in under nine minutes. Since the team had been established several students at the school were waiting to try out.

On the day of the rescue, the club's volunteer patrol was notified by a member of the public that a group of people were in trouble in a hole 800m south of the flags, he said.

"I immediately sent out a crew in an inflatable rubber boat (IRB), and they found a distressed swimmer clinging to a surfboard who told them a second person was also in trouble," Mr Pontin said.

He sent his two newest rookies on a beach search, where they spoke to everyone on the beach that afternoon in case the missing male swimmer had somehow made it to shore and hadn't told anyone.

After bringing in the first swimmer, the second IRB was dispatched and police were notified to assist with the rapidly growing search, he said.

Extra lifeguards were brought in and sent to perform a shore search and control the growing crowd of onlookers, Mr Pontin said.

"All up that day, we had 10 IRBs out. Foxton Surf Life Saving Club came up to help us with the Foxton Coastguard boat and jetski. It was a big search, and at the same time it was also a very busy day at the beach with several other swimmers having to be rescued close to the flags that afternoon."

After the first hour of the search, five Capital/Coast call-out IRBs (three from Paekakariki and two from Otaki) came in with the local rescue helicopter.

Mr Pontin said he continued the overall co-ordination of the search until the police arrived and took control.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It was an incredible day for my young lifeguards, and they were so good - I was immensely proud of them."

The search continued until 8.45pm that night.

"Sadly, the man's body was found just after dawn the next day by the volunteer fire service, who conducted a shore-line search," he said.

The body of Jarrett Simeon was found about 100m from the Himatangi Surf Life Saving Club just before 6am on Sunday January 6, after he had drifted away from a group of friends while swimming the afternoon before.

In their framed citation, all the Palmerston North lifeguards that day will be commended for their outstanding performance in the water and on the beach.

Surf Life Saving NZ say safety, excellence, courage and respect are fundamental to the work clubs deliver throughout New Zealand.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"And the extraordinary efforts shown by all the lifeguards involved in this rescue were outstanding - you can all be proud of your fellow surf lifeguards."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Opinion

Shelley Loader: How we can all get a share of the apples

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

11 Jul 06:00 PM

Former members are 'more than welcome' to return, RSA Welfare Trust president says.

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Major Joanna Margaret Paul exhibition opens

Major Joanna Margaret Paul exhibition opens

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Shelley Loader: How we can all get a share of the apples

Shelley Loader: How we can all get a share of the apples

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP