Marine Rescue NSW volunteers transfer sheep near Deniliquin. Photo: Marine Rescue NSW.
Marine Rescue NSW Illawarra Inspector Stuart Massey is urging the community to shine a light on the “quiet heroes” of emergency services, saying recognition can be a powerful motivator for those who often serve out of the public eye.
Fresh from receiving a NSW Premier’s Flood Citation, Inspector Massey is encouraging nominations for the 2026 Rotary Districts of NSW Emergency Services Community Awards (RESCA) after initially resisting being recognised himself.
Inspector Massey, who serves as the Zone Duty Operations Manager for the Illawarra region, was last year honoured with RESCA Marine Rescue NSW Officer of the Year and the Overall RESCA winner in the paid category.
“When the idea was initially floated to me, I wasn’t overly impressed with it,” he said of last year’s nominations.
“We’re not here for those types of awards or for recognition. It’s about getting a job done.”
However, as he progressed through the process for the frontline workers awards, he said his perspective shifted.
“The more I got involved with it, the more I realised how big the RESCA awards were,” Inspector Massey said.
“I actually felt quite honoured and very fortunate to be in that position to be recognised for what we do.
“Now I’m very much an advocate for the awards themselves. They’re really good.”
Inspector Massey said the awards were particularly important for Marine Rescue NSW, whose operations weren’t as public facing.
“In marine rescue in particular, what we do happens generally way out of the sight of the public,” he said.
“It’s not like surf lifesaving or RFS or SES where there are cameras there. We can be miles and miles offshore when we’re assisting people, and nobody knows about it.
“Particularly for marine rescue, to get that recognition for the job that we do is really important.”
He said for that reason, he had been actively encouraging nominations from within the service.
“I’ve been encouraging the volunteers and nominating people, because I believe it’s those little pats on the back every so often that really motivate some people,” he said.
“I would love to see other people get the recognition, because they do such a wonderful job.”
He said it was also a moment to stop and reflect on what had been achieved, which for him last year included putting Indigenous leaders through surf lifesaving courses and disadvantaged groups through boat licence courses.
In addition to his RESCA accolades, Inspector Massey was also a recipient of the NSW Premier’s Flood Citation this month, recognising his contribution to the massive flood response efforts that gripped the state in 2022 and 2023.
“NSW was just devastated by floods and it was a really crazy time,” he said.
Commissioner Alex Barrell and Inspector Stuart Massey during last year’s RESCA. Photo: Marine Rescue NSW.
Inspector Massey said he led a team of eight marine rescue volunteers to Deniliquin in the state’s west, where they took boats and faced extraordinary conditions as communities were cut off by rising waters.
“I was out there in week two … and we assisted the public in everything from monitoring flood levels to restocking livestock because they were isolated, to taking medical supplies to people who were stranded, to moving people who needed rescuing,” he said.
He said there were more than 200 marine rescue members who received flood citations, which included six volunteers from the Illawarra Shoalhaven, and staff members.
“There was a mammoth effort by all the volunteers and staff at the time to get out there and assist the public,” Inspector Massey said.
“It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.
“Just to get out there and assist somebody and have people stop you in the middle of the street when you go to get a coffee and just say ’thank you’.”
He said the support they received from the community, who they were there to support, was “phenomenal”.
Inspector Massey said there were surreal scenes as his team navigated floodwaters that had swallowed roads, paddocks and entire neighbourhoods.
“We were going into waters that were just a little sketchy,” he said.
He said they “became very inventive” in launching boats from parks and other improvised spots, and helped move everything from sheep to people.
“We were even herding camels. The camels were in knee-deep water,” he said.
He said humour was an essential coping tool for many, especially during stressful events like that.
In fact, Marine Rescue Shoalhaven volunteer Mark Dolence, who also received a flood citation, said after relocating 600 sheep from a single farm over two days they “quickly earned the nickname ‘Merino Rescue'”.
Inspector Massey said the operations also forged strong bonds among the volunteers, many of whom had never met before being deployed but now kept in regular contact.
He is now urging colleagues and community members to look around at the quiet achievers deserving of recognition in the awards.
RESCA nominations close 30 April and nominees will be assessed based on community service over and above the call of normal duties, personal attributes, and contribution to the organisation.
