One Year with MRQ, 62 Years at Sea

MRQ Whitsundays Anniversary party. Photo supplied: Marine Rescue Queensland

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On 9th September 2025, the volunteers of VMR Whitsunday began a new chapter in more than 60 years of saving lives at sea, becoming the 18th unit to join Marine Rescue Queensland.

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Now, MRQ Whitsunday is celebrating its first anniversary with the statewide service while honouring the generations of volunteers who have helped keep boaties safe across the region’s waters.  

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“Today is a chance to celebrate everything the unit has achieved in its first year with MRQ, while recognising the many years of volunteer service and local knowledge that came before it,” said a representative of Marine Rescue Queensland.  

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The volunteers’ efforts stretch back more than six decades to 1964.  

It began when a casual meeting at the Metropole hotel in Proserpine led to 6 forward thinkers realising there was a need for sea rescue services in the region.  

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The organisation was formally established as Proserpine Sea Rescue in 1967 before becoming Whitsunday Air Sea Rescue later that year. It operated alongside the local Coast Guard flotilla from 1977 until the two groups merged in 1991, eventually becoming VMR Whitsunday.

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As the service grew, so did its capabilities. The first dedicated rescue vessel, a Dale Sealord, was purchased in 1987, replacing the long-standing reliance on volunteers’ private boats.  

After years of meetings at venues around Proserpine, the organisation later found a permanent home with the opening of the Whitsunday Marine Club in 1994.  

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Today, under the new name of MRQ Whitsunday, the service has more than 80 active crew members and operates with modern rescue vessels, advanced radios, mobile communications and tracking technology, providing emergency marine support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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