Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • 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
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

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

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

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 / Bay of Plenty Times

'A family thing': What drives three Tauranga brothers to spend their free time helping others

Kiri Gillespie
By Kiri Gillespie
Assistant News Director and Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
20 Jun, 2019 08:00 PM3 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

Brothers Ethan Peeters, 22, Aaron Peeters, 23, and Levi Peeters, 19, all volunteer for different first response codes as well as Tauranga Coastguard. Photo / George Novak

Brothers Ethan Peeters, 22, Aaron Peeters, 23, and Levi Peeters, 19, all volunteer for different first response codes as well as Tauranga Coastguard. Photo / George Novak

If you find yourself in dire need of emergency help in Tauranga, there's a good chance you'll encounter one of the Peeters brothers.

Levi, Aaron and Ethan Peeters cover four of the city's main emergency response codes - all in their own spare time.

Levi, 19, volunteers as a firefighter at Tauranga station; Aaron, 23, volunteers as part of the local Civil Defence Response Team while also training to become a Tauranga firefighter; and Ethan volunteers as a St John first responder.

All three brothers also volunteer as Tauranga Coastguard crewmen, along with their dad Sunny.

"Dad was a police officer. Mum was a nurse. So there's a bit of a community aspect that's coming through the family there," Aaron said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"As well, when we first started volunteering with the Coastguard, that was a family thing."

The Kiwi family travelled around South East Asia helping non-government organisations for several years before putting down roots in Tauranga in 2015.

Signing up to the Tauranga Coastguard was one of the first things the family did, and they did it all together, Aaron said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There's something to be said for ... looking out to the harbour and knowing I've got a part to play," Aaron said.

Brothers Ethan Peeters, 22, Aaron Peeters, 23, and Levi Peeters, 19, all volunteer for different first response codes as well as Tauranga Coastguard. Photo / George Novak
Brothers Ethan Peeters, 22, Aaron Peeters, 23, and Levi Peeters, 19, all volunteer for different first response codes as well as Tauranga Coastguard. Photo / George Novak

"I'm contributing to a field where I can actually bring some skills to the table and be professional in what we do. It's cool to be part of that team, learning the skills and working on them together."

The Peeters brothers also work full-time. Levi is employed as a firefighter at Tauranga Airport, Aaron is a shipping co-ordinator at the Port of Tauranga and Ethan works as a machinery operator at the port.

Through careful rostering the brothers generally avoided being overworked, and all three were also fitting in training sessions for a 12-hour mountain bike race.

Discover more

QSM for Kuaotunu and Opito Bay stalwart

02 Jun 05:00 PM

Rory Birkbeck: the 'lifesaver' who's child-proofing the internet

16 Jun 07:30 AM

Appeal for more volunteers in the Bay

14 Jun 07:00 PM

Volunteering in the blood for Te Puke's Monique Lints

16 Jun 12:08 AM

Levi said their energy for volunteering came from their passion for teamwork and community.

"That's where we come from as a family - whether to serve, it's a really satisfying feeling," he said.

"My choice in career really came from just wanting to be part of a team and wanting to contribute to that team. And also help with not just response but those [people] recovering. FENZ [Fire and Emergency New Zealand] is really pushing on that."

He said he had always been interested in helping people medically.

"I've always wanted to help people who need it the most. St John fits with that. It's an amazing group of people that you get to work alongside and learn from.

"When we joined Coastguard, it was a family thing. We wanted to do it together and as a team, Coastguard is a nice fit."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

About 1.2 million people volunteer in New Zealand every year. National Volunteer Week will wrap up tomorrow..

Volunteering - by the numbers

New Zealand is a leading nation in the contribution made by volunteers. A 2013 study of the New Zealand non-profit sector estimated that volunteers contributed more than 157 million unpaid hours of work valued at over $3.5 billion to non-profit organisations.
Source - Volunteering New Zealand

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

04 Jul 06:03 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM

A family wanted to be left alone to develop their land without council interference.

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

04 Jul 06:03 PM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

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