Cairns marine rescuers celebrate 50 year anniversary: Historical slide show
From crop duster rescues by WWII vets to miraculous survival stories the Innisfail Coast Guard have seen it all, but after 50 years on the water who is going to take over?
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From crop duster rescues by WWII vets to miraculous survival stories, the Innisfail Coast Guard has seen it all but after 50 years on the water who is going to take over?
Since 1974, boaties south of Cairns have relied on the Innisfail Coast Guard when all else fails.
Past and current members gathered to swap stories and reminisce about the organisations five decades in action recently.
John Dunn, 67, is one of the last founding members alive, when he joined at 15 the life saving organisation was just a few blokes and their tinnies.
Mr Dunn said when the group started they relied on compasses, mountains and the occasional crop duster flown by WWII veterans to rescue lost boaties.
“There was a community groundswell after fisherman- would go out for quite a while and the wife’s would try ring around the community to get people to look for them,” Mr Dunn said.
“In those days the old fishermen could tell us that a certain reef would be a couple of hours out from the harbour in different direction.
“You knew you were in the right place when you looked towards the land and saw different mountain peaks.
“We even had a few members who owned crop duster planes, we would get them up in the air to try and do some low sweeps over the reefs to try and pick up people, those pilots were ex-World War II pilots. ”
After 15 years, Mr Dunn left the Innisfail Coast Guard to relocate to Cairns but still acts acts as the branch’s unofficial historian.
During his tenure, Mr Dunn was involved in countless rescues but there was one that always stuck with him.
After a boat capsized in rough weather with three men aboard in the early 1980s, the Innisfail Coast Guard were were called into action.
More than 40 years later Mr Dunn said he still remembers the frantic search, saying that after being seperated at night one man washed ashore with the remaining other men presumed dead.
“The family raised the alarm after they hadn’t returned,” Mr Dunn said.
“We started searching and searching which involved planes and trawlers and Coast Guard boats.
“We found a fellow washed up (alive) at Bramston Beach … he told us that during the night the party of three separated and we can only think the worst.”
Throughout the decades the sub branch ditched the rogue tinnies and crop dusters, for specialised equipment and an impressive flotilla.
But after nearly 50 years in service, the group is faced with an uphill battle.
Commander Neville Duncan said an ageing volunteer base meant the coast guard faced an existential threat.
“Like every volunteer organisation at the moment, we have a problem, we have an average age nearing 75,” Mr Duncan said.
For those tossing up joining, Mr Duncan said nothing compared to helping someone in life’s scariest moments.
“To go out there and bring someone back it’s really quite rewarding, to see that you’ve actually chosen something that’s helped someone,” Mr Duncan said.
Originally published as Cairns marine rescuers celebrate 50 year anniversary: Historical slide show
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