Our history

MR Batemans Bay, formally the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol (RVCP), started life in humble beginnings as a radio club operated by two people called Bar Marine, located on Beach Road in the Bay in 1982.  The following year negotiations were underway to form a division of the RVCP in Batemans Bay.  

In 1984 the first committee was formed comprising seven members, and this was the nucleus that would begin what is now Marine Rescue Batemans Bay.  

There are still a few of our RVCP members in our Team and even one or two of our community boat owners that use the old title when calling our radio room even today.

The first rescue vessel was purchased in 1988 – Shell Rescue – named after the support and sponsorship given by the Shell Service Station in Batehaven.  In 1990 a radio communications van was purchased, which is where the radio crews operated until 1995 when it moved to the marina manager’s office on Beach Road.

In 1997 negotiations with the council began to build a purpose-designed building to accommodate a growing RVCP which then had 54 full-time members and supported a boating community of nearly 1000 and growing fast.

In 1999 A Waveny Class lifeboat was purchased from the UK and became the primary rescue vessel.  In September 2003, work commenced on the current building using only local tradespeople to recognise the support given to the 

RVCP in the Batemans Bay area.  The building was completed in August 2004 and opened in November 2004.  In 2009 a decision was made to bring all the Emergency Services under the State Rescue Board, and the RVCP was renamed Marine Rescue New South Wales.

Recently an extension to the current building was completed, and it was formally opened by the former Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke.  The extension provides more space in the garage for both our standby trailered boat BM21 and vehicle.  It also provided an additional toilet and Training Room which is an excellent asset for the members of Batemans Bay.  MR Batemans Bay has approx. 70 members participating in Fund Raising, Radio, and Vessel Crews.