Northland lifeguards honoured at regional surf awards

The Surf Life Saving Northern Region Rescue of the Year team.

Northland's surf life savers have been recognised for their outstanding efforts protecting people in the water, with a Waipū family and the country's northern-most surf club picking up honours at the Surf Life Saving Northern Region Awards of Excellence.

Isolation and a large coastline has forced Far North Surf Rescue to be second-to-none.

The Ahipara-based club scooped the Rescue of the Year award at the Surf Life Saving Northern Region Awards of Excellence on Saturday night.

This is the second consecutive year the club has won the premier award.

Chairman Dave Ross, who also won a Distinguished Service Award, said the club was the most isolated in the country, one of the smallest and the most travelled.

These conditions forced club members to punch above their weight, executing challenging rescues outside the club's patrol hours and patrol areas, he said.

While being based in Ahipara, the club performed rescues all the way up to Cape Reinga, the Hokianga, Paihia and Whangaroa.

The rescue the club was cited for involved helping police locate a missing diver near Cape Reinga last September.

It was a team effort involving Ross and Thom Anderson from Far North, Jacob Rennie from Mairangi Bay, Mark Gordon from United North Piha, and Connor Mackereth and Kyran Gillespie from Ruakaka, who brought extra skills and equipment for the rescue.

Setting up communications with police, the team initiated a search in the chilly water. The dead diver was recovered with cultural sensitivity and returned to his family.

The police commended the professionalism of those involved, with the event seeding future collaboration between police and Surf Life Saving Northern Region.

Ross was also recognised for his 47-year involvement with surf life saving, during which time he has led surf clubs in Kariotahi on Auckland's south-west coast, Baylys Beach near Dargaville and Far North.

His involvement with Far North Surf Rescue has been pivotal to the growth and advancement of the club, supporting and leading some of the most complex rescue operations in Northland to date, his citation said.

"There are many in Northland who know they made it back from the beach thanks to Dave's contribution to this movement."

The unassuming Ross said the award was a "pretty cool" recognition for his years of work.

Meanwhile, three members of Waipū's Stolwerk family were also recognised in the Awards of Excellence.

Emily Stolwerk, 14, from Waipū Cove Surf Life Saving Club, won the Rookie Lifeguard of the Year Award while her father Rick and mother Angela were honoured with a Distinguished Service Award and a Service Award respectively.

Rick Stolwerk was recognised for being a board member of Waipū for more than 30 years, helping in all areas of club management and lifeguard development over this time, including building the junior surf programme to more than 100 members.

A total of 36 different awards were presented to 11 different clubs and their members at the Toyota Financial Services Surf Life Saving Northern Region Awards of Excellence. The region serves beaches from North Cape to Raglan and Auckland.