Tweed Shire-based surf life saver awarded Emergency Services Medal

AFTER more than three decades of service and thousands of hours on patrol, Tweed Shire-based surf life saver David William Rope has received one of Australia’s highest honours for emergency service personnel.

Rope has been awarded the Emergency Services Medal (ESM) in the General Division in the King’s Birthday Honours, recognising long-standing service to Surf Life Saving and his leadership during some of northern New South Wales’s most challenging emergency events.

The Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club member said he was “totally in shock” and “very proud and humbled” by the recognition.

“I’m totally in shock,” Rope said.

“And obviously very proud and humbled to have been recognised in this way by Surf Life Saving that has tens of thousands of members who may be eligible for the award.”

Rope’s citation highlights more than 30 years of service and more than 4,000 frontline patrol hours.

He currently serves as Far North Coast Branch director of life saving and as a Surf Life Saving duty officer, having also served multiple terms as branch secretary and director of life saving, while volunteering as a patrol captain and board member at Cudgen Headland.

Throughout his career, Rope has helped shape life saving operations in the Far North Coast Branch, mentoring volunteers, leading regional life saving initiatives and strengthening interagency coordination to improve life saving capabilities in the region.

Though humbled to receive the medal, he said the work he does is not about seeking recognition.

“I don’t do it for that reason,” he said.

Rope joined Surf Life Saving as a teenager in the late 1970s and became involved with Far North Coast Surf Life Saving after moving to the Tweed region in 2002.

He said the camaraderie among volunteers and the opportunity to make a difference remained among the most rewarding aspects of the role.

“You get a lot of enjoyment out of working with other volunteers that have a common interest and want to help the community, want to cook fundraising barbecues, want to help people that may not be as lucky as we are,” he said.

His citation also recognises his role during the devastating Northern Rivers floods of 2022, when he served as a forward commander coordinating hundreds of deployed personnel, integrating resources, equipment and supplies, and liaising with multiple emergency service agencies during rescue operations.

While the medal recognises his personal contribution, Rope was quick to credit the thousands of volunteers who dedicate their time to keeping communities safe.

“I’m just a humble volunteer…” he said.

“My enjoyment that I get out of this is just being able to help the community.”