Papamoa surf lifesaving club celebrating 25 years

Club president Matthew Pickering and his sons Mason, 20, (left) and Justin, 17, (right) have been with the Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club for 16 years. Photo / George Novak

Twenty-five years since the surf lifesaving club formed on the dunes of Papamoa, founding members, lifetime members and current members will gather to celebrate the milestone anniversary.

In its 25 years the club's membership has grown to nearly 800 members with plans for a second flagged area in Papamoa East and a new clubhouse.

Club chairman Andrew Hitchfield said the club had grown as Papamoa continued to grow. Some families had been in the club for 15 to 20 years, he said.

The Pickering family is one of a number of families who have had two generations go through the club.

Club president Matthew Pickering joined the club in 1999 after moving to Papamoa and was soon followed by his sons Mason, 20, and Justin, 17.

The club community was like a big extended family, Mr Pickering said.

"Especially in Papamoa because it's a growing community so there's lots of young families.

"It's a great way to spend time with your children in a cool community," he said.

"At this time of year, from now onwards, every night you go down to the beach because either your kids are training and you're there watching, working or just hanging out."

"There's always something going on." Founding member John Woolley said he never could have imagined the current success of the club when he and Gary Hailwood established it 25 years ago.

The club was previously merged with the Omanu Club but split when there was obviously a need for a dedicated patrol further along the coast for the growing population.

The first five years was a whole lot of work by a small team of people, while funding was hard to come by as Papamoa was still developing, Mr Woolley said.

Mr Woolley would be one of a number of speakers at the reunion on Saturday night.

Sheryl McLay, who was heading the organising committee, said the dinner of Saturday night would have more than 150 guests.

"One of the key things for me is having the young ones hearing and respecting the history of their club," she said.