The Howick Volunteer Coastguard was established in 1956 as part of the Howick Volunteer Fire Brigade under the name of the Howick Sea Rescue after the drowning of 3 local youths. The Howick unit which has been in continuous service ever since was initially Crewed and Managed by the members of the Howick Volunteer Fire Brigade.

In 1984 the original Howick Sea Rescue organisation became Howick Volunteer Coastguard and is a full member of The Royal New Zealand Coastguard Inc. The Howick unit consists of around 40 members who are all operational crew and live relatively close to the Headquarters at Howick Beach. The members are organised into duty crews who voluntarily give up their time to attend weekly training sessions and to rescue people and boats. Callout is by pager 24 hrs a day, 365 days per year and the response time from the call until the boat is in the water is typically 10 minutes. Crew’s turnout to an average of 170 incidents per year. The Primary area of responsibility is the Tamaki Strait and the Firth of Thames across to Coromandel and down to Thames.

Visit our About Us section for more information on Howick Coastguard, including our Vessels, how you can Contact Us and more.

Meetings/Training: Every Tuesday at 1930 at the base on Howick Beach Domain, Granger Road Howick.