Volunteer of the month - Bill Greening of Coastguard Whanganui

Bill Greening has been nominated by Coastguard Whanganui as Whanganui Volunteer of the Month.

Coastguard Whanganui has successfully nominated its member Bill Greening as the Whanganui Volunteer of the Month.

Bill has been with the service for more than 25 years.

He started as a wet crew member on the boat, rostered two weeks on, and two weeks off. He had to be prepared to go anytime, day or night.

Some of the requirements were to achieve a New Zealand boatmaster’s certificate and the requirements of being a qualified crew member for the unit.

“One rescue that I can remember well was talking to my skipper and him saying ‘Can you hurry up, there are two people in the water at the bar’. We leapt to it, it was a satisfying experience, and we got them both back safely to shore.

“On another occasion, I was not on the boat, it was going up past Waitotara, and the skipper said ‘I can see our customers.’ They had been sitting in an upside-down boat for over 14 hours, all night.

“They had the good sense to stay with the boat. As the Coastguard boat pulled up alongside, the 13-year-old leapt into the sea to swim to us - he didn’t want to wait another minute.

“There’s a tremendous amount of satisfaction in bringing groups of people back to shore. It’s an enormously satisfying thing to do, for very little sacrifice. In all the time I have been in Coastguard, we only ever lost one person, and it tore us apart.

“The boaties in Whanganui are very responsible, by and large. They talk to us before they go, and say where they are going, and what time they expect to be back. They call us when they are back safely. On a good weekend, there can be up to 130 boats crossing the bar in a day.

“They know if they don’t, I have all the assets, such as a helicopter from Ōhakea, to find them, and we do,” he said.

Bill transitioned from volunteer boat crewman after 18 years to become a radio operator. He now does up to three shifts per week and was on duty (with a pager) while being interviewed.

Once the port is properly dredged, as part of the revitalisation project, the Coastguard will be able to get out more easily. Sometimes there isn’t enough water and the boat has to be towed to Putiki to launch, which takes up valuable time.

“I thoroughly enjoyed, and worked very hard, on the national executive for nine years, as well as seeing the Coastguard go through a time of tremendous transition,” said Bill. “Fundraising with a committee of one I raised $700,000 for the new building. All of that was very satisfying and rewarding.”

Bill was the principal at Westmere School for 23 years and before that Kiwi Street for five years. He is still giving back to the community.

Coastguard Whanganui is currently seeking new volunteers for either boat crew or radio operator roles, so if you think you would like to get some information about these roles, then please ring 06 344 4686.

Contact can also be made through the Volunteer Wanganui Centre, situated on first floor Room 110, Community House, 60 Ridgway St, phone 06 347 9430.