{"id":79798,"date":"2023-12-31T04:41:47","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T17:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/?p=79798"},"modified":"2023-12-28T18:56:56","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T07:56:56","slug":"lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifesavers celebrate 50 years of helicopter service"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SURF Life Saving Australia is closing out the year with a celebration of 50 years of their helicopter service.<\/p>\n<p>Launched in 1973 with a $25,000 grant from Westpac, Australia&#8217;s first civilian search and rescue operation began with a Bell 47 helicopter patrolling Sydney&#8217;s coastline.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service has grown impressively, boasting a fleet of 15 state-of-the-art rescue helicopters, operating from 13 locations across the country.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124257\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124257\" style=\"width: 598px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-124257 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/wire-body_first-chop_66340.jpeg?_t=1703749453\" alt=\"\" width=\"598\" height=\"379\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124257\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Australia&#8217;s first civilian search and rescue operation began in 1973 with this Bell 47 helicopter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Life Saving Victoria manager of lifesaving response Liam O&#8217;Callaghan, commended the service&#8217;s evolution.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s 50 years since the first Westpac chopper service started up nationwide,&#8221; Mr O&#8217;Callaghan said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s Life Saving Victoria&#8217;s eyes in the sky, keeping people safe around the water in Victoria.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124258\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124258\" style=\"width: 596px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-124258 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/LS31LandingbehindLS3_69565.jpg?_t=1703749453\" alt=\"\" width=\"596\" height=\"397\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124258\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pictured: Life Saver 30 and Life Saver 31. For the peak holiday period the two choppers will operate daily. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The service&#8217;s rescue techniques have advanced over the years. Initially, lifesavers would jump into the water from helicopters.<\/p>\n<p>Now people in distress are swiftly winched into the helicopters for immediate first aid.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are also on standby for search and rescue support, and emergencies over land and water across the state,&#8221; Mr O&#8217;Callaghan said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124260\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124260\" style=\"width: 581px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-124260 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/Westpac-Rescue-Helic_66373.jpg?_t=1703749453\" alt=\"\" width=\"581\" height=\"387\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124260\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The choppers are also on standby for search and rescue support across the state. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For the peak holiday period, two choppers, Life Saver 30 and Life Saver 31, will operate daily, mainly covering areas between Apollo Bay, Wilson&#8217;s Prom, and around Port Phillip Bay.<\/p>\n<p>The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service has performed more than 100,000 missions over the past 50 years.<\/p>\n<p>These include coastal search and rescues, responding to inland motor vehicle and farming incidents, and transferring critically ill patients between hospitals.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124262\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124262\" style=\"width: 585px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-124262 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/Westpac-Rescue-Helic_66357.jpg?_t=1703749453\" alt=\"\" width=\"585\" height=\"390\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124262\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service, has grown impressively, boasting a fleet of 15 state-of-the-art rescue helicopters, operating from 13 locations across the country. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>These missions have been crucial in some of Australia&#8217;s most challenging moments, including the 1977 Granville train disaster, the 1998 Sydney to Hobart tragedy, and the more recent Black summer bushfires, and floods in NSW, Queensland, and Victoria.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Last year, the chopper responded to 88 emergencies, including 28 specific flood response taskings, supporting various state emergency services,&#8221; Mr O&#8217;Callaghan said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124263\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124263\" style=\"width: 597px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-124263 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/b4774_66359.jpg?_t=1703749452\" alt=\"\" width=\"597\" height=\"336\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124263\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service has performed more than 100,000 missions over the past 50 years. Photos: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Westpac Group Chief Executive Peter King said the partnership with Surf Life Saving Australia was deeply embedded in the bank&#8217;s own history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For 50 years, the crew and personnel of the service have been there through some of the most significant moments that the country has faced \u2013 from the Granville train disaster, the Thredbo landslide to the Port Arthur tragedy \u2013 and we look forward to continuing to work with the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Services around Australia to keep us safe from above.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SURF Life Saving Australia is closing out the year with a celebration of 50 years of their helicopter service. Launched in 1973 with a $25,000 grant from Westpac, Australia&#8217;s first civilian search and rescue operation began with a Bell 47 helicopter patrolling Sydney&#8217;s coastline. Today, the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service has grown impressively, boasting [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":79799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-79798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lifesavers celebrate 50 years of helicopter service - Bellarine Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Celebrating 50 years of saving lives! The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service has flown over 100,000 missions, keeping Australians safe from coast to country. Learn about its history, advanced rescue techniques, and crucial role in national emergencies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lifesavers celebrate 50 years of helicopter service - Bellarine Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Celebrating 50 years of saving lives! The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service has flown over 100,000 missions, keeping Australians safe from coast to country. Learn about its history, advanced rescue techniques, and crucial role in national emergencies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bellarine Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-30T17:41:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/12\/Feature-Image-2023-12-28T184328.514.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Angus Smith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@angussmithh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Angus Smith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Angus Smith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/25bcc2cb3a5fd7fe4016d31a167d1b9b\"},\"headline\":\"Lifesavers celebrate 50 years of helicopter service\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-30T17:41:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":511,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/Feature-Image-2023-12-28T184328.514.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lifesavers celebrate 50 years of helicopter service - Bellarine Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/bellarinetimes\\\/news\\\/lifesavers-celebrate-50-years-of-helicopter-service\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/Feature-Image-2023-12-28T184328.514.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-30T17:41:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"Celebrating 50 years of saving lives! 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