Coastguard New Zealand

Since the first Coastguard unit was formed in 1898, Coastguard has been run by volunteers, and that remains the case today. We are hugely proud of our volunteers – people from all communities and walks of life who dedicate a huge amount of their free time to keeping their fellow New Zealanders alive. Coastguard volunteers spend many hundreds of thousands of hours on search and rescue missions, radio operations, training or maintenance work each year. They’re highly trained professional volunteers, so you can be safe in the knowledge that when you call Coastguard for help, you’ll be in expert hands.