Surf Life Saving Central Coast director Brett Beswick steps down
He joined the surf lifesaving movement to make a difference and Brett Beswick has done just that for more than a decade.
Central Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Brett Beswick has been circled by a shark, broken his back, saved countless lives and supported many grieving families. But after more than a decade of volunteer service as director of surf lifesaving at Surf Life Saving Central Coast, the Avoca Beach-based father of three has called it a day.
Simon Cusack has taken over his role, after serving as understudy in recent times.
“We’ve got such a good leadership team within lifesaving, so the future is looking pretty good,” Mr Beswick said.
Mr Beswick came into the role when the branch had three duty officers, two jet skis and six jet ski operators. It now has 18 duty officers, three jet skis and 55 jet ski operators.
The portfolio Mr Beswick managed with one other person, has grown to have four managers, each managing separate portfolios.
During Mr Beswick’s time at the helm he was instrumental – along with branch president Stuart Harvey – in pushing for mandatory use of life jackets for rock fishermen. He has also seen water surveillance grow to include unmanned aerial vehicles and the gazetting of surf lifesaving as an emergency service.
He and Mr Harvey have also been state duty officers for many years, co-ordinating high pressure rescues across the state, often from their own homes in the middle of the night.
“I won’t miss those 2am phone calls,” Mr Beswick quipped.
There have been plenty of tough times in among the successes, with Mr Beswick grateful for the peer support that now exists within lifesaving.
He has been involved with plenty of tough rescues and body retrievals at the notorious Frazer Park, and he also spoke of the community support received during the search for the body of a young child who had drowned at Pearl Beach in 2014.
With Mr Beswick about to qualify for long service leave with his “day job”, he is contemplating a trip around Australia next year. But he still wants to do jet ski and duty officer shifts when he can.
He acknowledged the support of his wife Leanne and his three children through his countless hours of service.
“My wife and kids have been very understanding, even though my kids always used to say ‘you can’t go anywhere without knowing someone’,” he said.
“But that’s just how surf lifesaving is, it’s like one big family.”
