Jeff Benson of Coastguard Lake Taupō has been named Unit Support Volunteer of the Year in the national organisation’s annual awards.
The Coastguard Tautiaki Moana 2025 Volunteer Awards of Excellence recognise “the outstanding individuals and units whose courage, commitment, and care have made a lasting impact across Aotearoa,” said the organisation.
“These awards honour the people who show up, time and time again, not for recognition but because they care,” said Carl McOnie, chief executive officer of Coastguard Tautiaki Moana. “Their dedication is humbling, and their impact is immeasurable.”
Benson’s achievements for Coastguard Lake Taupō include ensuring the right equipment is available when the crew have to spring into action to deal with a river float down the Waikato River that has gone wrong.
He dealt with the mountain of paperwork and safety certification necessary to ensure his unit had use of a new rigid inflatable boat (RIB) that would connect with their jetski, turning it into a much larger rescue vessel within minutes – ideal for river rescues. The fantastic invention from France is light enough to transport to the area’s many boat ramps, but the regulatory work required for it to comply with New Zealand’s strict maritime safety standards proved a handful.
Jeff remembers the day they achieved that certification as a real milestone of success and satisfaction. But then he had a whole new problem.
The main ramp that the unit uses to access the river had degraded over time so that their new trailer was too low to fit down it. Jeff worked with Ngāti Tūwharetoa, the local iwi, to obtain approval to undertake repair work in conjunction with the local harbour master team.
The result is everyone who uses the lake and river now has a Coastguard unit that can go to their rescue in far less time than before.
As well as these achievements in a short space of time, Benson has earned his skipper’s qualification, and found ways to seamlessly work with local SAR, Police and other agencies.
He was accepted onto the Coastguard leadership programme two years ago.
Coastguard Lake Taupō was formed in 1985 and is located at the Lake Taupō boat harbour. It has a Maritime Centre at 14 Rauhotu Street, Taupō. The main lake rescue vessel, CRV Taupō Rescue, is moored at the wharf beside the Harbourmaster's Office at the mouth of the Waikato River while a second smaller vessel, CRV Mighty River Power Rescue, is stored at the Taupō Police Station, ready for rapid deployment in the upper reaches of the Waikato or on Lake Taupō.
The full list of the year’s winners is:
- Trevor Farmer (Coastguard Mana) – Supreme Award Volunteer of the Year & Outstanding Leadership Award
- Peter Herrick (Coastguard Nelson) – Operational Crew Member of the Year
- Bo Baines (Coastguard Marlborough) – Communications/Incident Management Volunteer of the Year
- Jeff Benson (Coastguard Lake Taupō) – Unit Support Volunteer of the Year
- Leah Sinton (Coastguard North Shore) & Ryan Spence (Coastguard Marlborough) – Emerging (Young) Volunteer of the Year
- Coastguard Sumner – Rescue of the Year & Unit of the Year
- Coastguard Queenstown – Unit Innovation of the Year
- Coastguard Nelson – Community Engagement Unit of the Year
