Northern Rivers lifesaving veteran honoured after seven decades of service

GOONELLABAH’s Raymond John “Wato” Watson has been recognised for 70 years of service to Surf Life Saving, receiving the Distinguished Long Service Award at the 2026 NSW Community Sports Awards.

The 88-year-old was one of 26 volunteers honoured at Bankstown Sports Club on 29 June.

During his decades of service, Watson served as secretary of the Far North Coast Branch in the 1960s before becoming branch president and director of surf sports, helping shape the administration and development of surf sports across the region. He has also officiated at Australian championships for almost 50 years.

His service has earned life membership at club, branch, state and national levels, along with appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contribution to both sport and the community.

Long before the accolades, however, Watson’s connection to Surf Life Saving began as a teenager at Ballina Surf Club.

 

 

Watson said he was first introduced to surf lifesaving by a friend he worked with at the Norco factory in Lismore.

“He sort of talked me into it and just led me around,” he said.

“I took to it and I liked it and it’s been a long run over the years. It’s been 70 years since I’ve been doing it.”

Living in Lismore, Watson travelled to Ballina most weekends after joining Ballina Surf Club in 1954 before later moving to Evans Head Surf Life Saving Club in 1970, where he remains a member today.

“I used to travel to Ballina on the weekends, Friday nights,” he said.

“You’d stay in the clubhouse till Sunday and then come home and go back to work.”

Those weekends immersed him in club life and laid the foundation for a lifelong commitment to surf lifesaving.

“You end up doing a lot of things,” he said.

 

 

“You get mixed up with club activities, which is a big thing.”

Watson said one of the biggest changes he had witnessed during his time in the movement was the inclusion of women, which he believed had been vital to its future.

“I think the biggest switch in the whole thing was having the females join the movement,” he said.

“The inclusion of women in the association was a lifesaver for the movement itself.”

Even as membership continues to grow statewide, Watson said many clubs were struggling to attract and retain volunteers.

“Even now, our clubs in the branch are starving for members,” he said.

“There’s a lot of clubs in New South Wales, they’re just surviving with something like 20 or 30 members.

“It’s a big deal.”

 

 

Watson said receiving the Distinguished Long Service Award was an honour.

“I would say along the road, I’ve collected many things, but yes, it’s an honour to receive it and to be able to do it,” he said.

He said the people he had met over the past seven decades remained the greatest reward.

“I suppose when you look at it, like 70 years, it’s a long time, isn’t it?” he said. “But it’s come around real quick now. When I look back, it just doesn’t seem long.

“But what I’ve had in that time, I’ve met a lot of people, I’ve had a lot of good mentors and I’d do it again and I’d recommend it.”