About Coastguard Whakatane

Coastguard Whakatane Building

Marine radio communications were started in Whakatane in 1950 by a private family, Herb and Joyce Brabant, from their residence on Hillcrest - a hillside suburb of Whakatane using an ex Army ZC1 set operating on frequencies of around 2Mhz as ZLRE. They operated their station for 21 years, running four skeds a day for 365 day a year, until advancing age forced them to relinquish this role in 1972.

Boat communications equipment

Coastguard Whakatane monitors the VHF channels from 08:00 until 18:00 each day. Read the details of the channels we monitor. 

Note: If you change your call sign you MUST contact Boating Education (Phone 09 361 4700) or 0800 408090 to inform them of the change. Boating Education is the agency for registering Call Signs.

These sites are a source of valuable information relevant to Coastguard Whakatane - we suggest you visit them when you have a moment.