- 1910 -
The first surf life saving clubs officially formed in New Zealand were New Brighton (July 1910) and Lyall Bay (August 1910), followed that summer by Worser Bay, Castlecliff and St Clair.
- 1915 -
The Nelson Shield was first won by the Napier team in February 1915. The competition, for 7 man teams, was based on military training.
- 1932 -
The NZ Surf Life Saving Association was formed on August 7th, 1932 when the Royal Life Saving Society delegated to it the conduct and control of all surf life saving activities.
- 1932 -
The first ladies club was formed at Milford in March 1932. Muriel Brown was one of the founding members of the Milford club. All clubs are now mixed gender.
- 1940 -
While many male surf club members are away at war, new lady members took their places on patrol to ensure NZ’s beaches were kept safe.
- 1948 -
The “21” Club’s first meeting was held at St Clair on February 18th, 1948. The club was open to qualified members who have 21 years continuous service in surf life saving.
- 1950 -
The NZ team won the first tests series against Australia in February 1950. The NZ team captain was Joe Clark.
- 1956 -
The NZ Surf Life Saving team competed as a demonstration sport at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Duncan Laing was the NZ team captain.
- 1968 -
BP (formerly Europa) started their 40 year support of surf life saving after the “Miss Europa” surfboat was used in the rescue of Wahine passengers off Worser Bay beach, Wellington.
- 1978 -
During the trials for the new Arancia IRB at Piha in late 1978, the first rescue using an IRB was performed. IRB’s now account for over 60% of all rescues.
- 1988 -
75 Gisborne lifeguards helped in the rescue operations after Cyclone Bola caused devastating floods on the East Coast and Poverty Bay on 7 March 1988.
- 1993 -
On 17th January 1993, 14 people were rescued in a mass rescue by the Bethells Beach Surf Life Saving Patrol. This rescue won the 1993 BP Rescue of the year Award.
welcome!
The Surf Life Saving centenary in 2010 will celebrate 100 years since the first life saving patrols started in New Zealand.
During the Summer of the Surf Lifeguard, from September 2010 – April 2011, there will be events to mark 100 years of an iconic volunteering movement.
It is the opportunity to share the legacy of dedication and
leadership of the volunteers who have served New Zealand for
100 years on the often dangerous beaches of our coastline.