A life serving others has been recognised with the awarding of a Paul Harris Fellowship Award to Coastguard Wānaka Lakes (CWL) president Jonathan Walmisley.

The award was bestowed on Jonathan by the Rotary Club of Wānaka for his contribution to the community and to the Rotary organisation.

“The members of the Rotary Club of Wānaka acknowledge the wonderful leadership, dedication and contribution that Jonathan has brought to the local Wānaka community and for the contribution he has made to the Rotary Club of Wānaka,” Rotary Club of Wānaka president Richard Wallace said.

Jonathan joined CWL in 2012 as secretary and became the unit training officer and president in 2014. 

Jonathan Walmisley PHOTO: Wānaka App

His knowledge and expertise saw him teaching and upskilling coastguard crews and skippers around the country as well as serving on national and regional coastguard boards.

In 2014 he was named Coastguard Volunteer of the Year and nominated as a Kiwibank New Zealander of the year.

Jonathan has been the driving force behind a number of CWL initiatives to improve local services but his biggest challenge was finding a home for the unit from where it can train and store equipment.

In 2019 the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) issued CWL a 33-year lease for a base building at Eely Point and granted resource consent in 2020.

Under Jonathan’s leadership fundraising was completed through the Otago Community Trust, Central Lakes Trust, Coastguard New Zealand and local fundraising efforts. 

Construction of the building is now underway.

“It has been a long four years to get to this point, but we are now making real progress in ensuring we have a permanent coordination centre with effective communications which will enhance the safety of all lake users and our coastguard volunteers,” Jonathan said.

Born in Greece, Jonathan grew up in North Africa and Turkey due to his father’s role as a director of the British American Tobacco company.

He finished his education in 1970 at St Edward’s School in Oxford and began training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. Jonathan served in the Armoured Engineers and obtained his Civil Engineering qualifications at the Royal School of Military Engineering.

He went on to become a chartered engineer with the Engineering Council of the United Kingdom and served in military engineering and training, and later in logistics.

Jonathan led a 20-person team carrying out disaster relief in El Salvador following the 1986 earthquake and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his efforts.

He became Commanding Officer in the 48 Field Squadron England and took part in active service tours in Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Cyprus and short stints in Norway and France during his 28-years in the British Military.

Jonathan met his New Zealand wife Dorice while she was on her OE. They married in 1990 and arrived in New Zealand in 1998.

His first job was as campus manager with the Southern Institute of Technology in Christchurch with the campus growing to four times its size when he left in 2002.

A position of chief executive officer followed in 2002 at Telford Rural Polytechnic and nine years later he became the director of the Telford Division at Lincoln University. 

That same year (2011) Jonathan and Dorice moved to Wānaka.

It was in 1905 that an American, Paul Harris, founded the Rotary Organisation. An award in his name, the Paul Harris Fellowship Award is recognition for outstanding work and contribution both to Rotary and to the community.

Jonathan continues to serve the Upper Clutha community in his role as president of Coastguard Wānaka Lakes.