Pukehina Surf Rescue is fundraising for a new base that will enable beach goers in the area to be safer in the surf, and this latest big allocation is pushing them closer to their goal.

The club received an allocation of $1.3m from Surf Life Saving New Zealand, which Build Committee Chair Andrew McDowell says is making 'a world of difference” to the nearly $4.4m project.

'We've been working for about three years to get the funding, with Covid-19 and everything going on we hadn't been able to get the deal over the line, but we have now which is awesome,” says Andrew.

'We started this project about eight years ago. The club rooms' health was in a particularly bad state, and our club has grown exponentially with the expansion of Pāpāmoa East.”

First opening in 1997, Pukahina Surf Club had a total of 100 square metres and started off with roughly 38 lifeguards and 50 junior surf kids.

Fast forward to 2022, the club is has about 60 lifeguards and 130 junior surf kids, and is still sharing the same area despite the increase in growth.

'We'll be upgrading to about 530 square metres after the new build, and won't be sharing our 6x6 metre space upstairs any longer,” says Pukehina club chairman Boyd Harris.

'At present we can't see all of the beach and physically patrol it every 90 minutes. After the new building is done our tower will enable us to see the whole area unobstructed.”

The planned new Pukehina Surf Rescue building. Photo: Supplied.

'We went from about 60 kids to 135 children in our junior surf competition. It really showed the need for the upgrade in our building, and now we are finally about to push the green button,” says Andrew.

Seeing the allocation come in, along with getting the club to this point has been a 'mind-blowing” experience for Andrew.

'I've been part of this project since the inception. Once the allocation was confirmed a few weeks ago it was a pretty special day.

'Our clubs don't pay people. We're all volunteers so it takes a lot of mahi to get things done. To get a substantial number like that from Surf Life Saving New Zealand was absolutely amazing.”

The new building has safety as a top priority, as Andrew says ensuring the new tower was installed with an unobstructed view was a must.

'We are very much a patrolling club. With Pāpāmoa East pushing our way, we need to keep safety a top priority for the increasing number of youth.”

Andrew predicts the building will be completed sometime in October 2023, with construction taking place at the end of the next surf season in early March.

'We still hope to have a skeleton patrol and junior surf programmes for the 2023 season.

'I feel really proud the junior kids going through now will have a building they can be in with their surf buddies and their private lives. The community can come and use it too which is just awesome. It has motivated me greatly to push for this.”

Boyd says the club is continuing the fundraising efforts towards the new building, with the latest event set to take place on October 29.

'It's a black tie event called A Night at the Oscars. We've got Hillary Barry to MC the night with a dinner, charity auction and Jamie Fitzgerald providing music,” says Boyd.

'About 200 tickets have been sold so far, and we've got about 100 left. It's going to be a big affair.

'We've made a purposeful approach to not actively seek donations from the community so far, and are preferring people to approach us while applying to other funders.”

The pair say the project has is about 80 per cent funded, and has had a recent generous anonymous donation of $20,000.

'As a club we're not very good at putting our hand out for money. The community response has just been amazing, and makes us feel very humble.”

For more information on Pukehina Surf Rescue, or to make a donation, visit their website https://www.pukehinasurfrescue.co.nz/, or their Facebook page, "Pukehina Surf Rescue."