The Southern Region Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service is holding a fundraising dinner in Wollongong on August 19. To celebrate a Moruya crew from Lifesaver 23 took advantage of a glorious winter day to land at Flagstaff Hill on Friday to name City Beach Function Centre as the venue.
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The dinner will also raise awareness about the work the rescue chopper does in the Illawarra. Westpac has supported the service for more than 40 years. It is recognised as the longest serving corporate partnership in Australia.
The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service covers 84 per cent of the Australian population during summer. More than 70,000 missions have been flown and it is still a free community service. Rescue Crew officer Euan McKenzie, Air Crew officer Harley Dengate and pilot Rob Wildman were in Wollongong to emphasise how important community support is to keeping the rescue service operational. They said there was another rescue chopper in Sydney but the Moruya based chopped does most of the missions on the South Coast between the Victorian border and Wollongong.
“It is absolutely fantastic that Wollongong his helping us,” Mr McKenzie said.
It is absolutely fantastic that Wollongong is helping us
- Rescue Crew officer Euan McKenzie
“We are only partially funded by government and Westpac Bank is very supportive. But we also rely on the community support to get the extra money to keep the helicopter flying. We do around 200 missions a year. Those can range from up in the Alpine environment to coastal and well off shore going out to ships and boats. We are very diverse in how we operate and we are available 365 days a year. We have two crews that rotate in and out four days on and four days off as well as a few casuals.”
Mr McKenzie said all the crew were from surf lifesaving backgrounds. “Then we are trained as aviators to undertake this special role. We don’t always operate on the beach. We operate in the bush as well”.
Mr Dengate and Mr Wildman are both attending the Wollongong dinner. “The Bowral fundraiser last year was very successful and we are hoping for that to happen again here. We want to raise as much as possible. It is about support and everyone getting together. But if we can raise some money as well that would be really good ,” Mr McKenzie said. Registrations and information at wollongongchopperdinner.eventbrite.com.au and Lifesaverhelo.