''Surf Patrol, Australia's Lifesavers'' is an Australian

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series that airs on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

. The series is produced by the Australian production company Cornerbox, the producers of Seven's other factual series ''

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'' and '' Border Security: Australia's Front Line''. The first season was presented by

Simon Westaway Simon Westaway (born 22 December 1958) is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television series, films and theatre productions. He is most remembered as portraying Sergeant Peter "Noddy" Faithful in the crime drama series ''Phoenix'', ...

, with

Naomi Robson Naomi Robson (born 4 December 1961) is an American-born Australian television presenter who is best known as the former presenter of the east coast edition of ''Today Tonight'', an Australian current affairs program which was broadcast on weekn ...

taking over for season two, and Tom Williams for series three. The show premiered on 9 July 2007. The second season started airing from 12 May 2008, with a third aired from 14 July 2009.

Overview

The show follows the work of volunteer Surf Lifesavers on the beaches of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It also features the work of the Sydney

Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service is a helicopter surf lifesaving service that operates in Australia. Founded in 1973 by Surf Life Saving Australia, a nonprofit organization, not-for-profit organisation, the service has carried o ...

and Sydney's Offshore Rescue Boats, such as the

Cronulla District Lifesaver Rescue The Cronulla District LifeSaver Rescue Service works with the Water police, Water Police, NSW Police, NSW Maritime, Coast Guard, PolAir Helicopters, Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopters, Bate Bay Surf Life Saving Clubs as well as clubs in th ...

Boat.

Reception

Series One

The first season, consisting of 17 episodes, began airing on 9 July 2007. The first reason of ''Surf Patrol'' was viewed by an average of 1.45 million people in Australia's mainland

capital cities A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

over the course of the series and was the highest rating program of the week on several occasions.

Series Two

Following its highly successful debut in 2007, Channel 7 and Cornerbox ordered a second season of ''Surf Patrol'', which began filming on 22 December 2007. The second season consisted of 20 episodes, and covered more beaches than the first series. Surf Lifesaving Australia President, Ron Rankin AM, welcomed the news of a second series and said the program was a tribute to the work of surf lifesavers across the country: "I have travelled around Australia extensively during the Year of the Surf Lifesaver and many people have told me how much they love ''Surf Patrol'' and the realistic portrayal of SLSA members," he said. "We look forward to working closely with Cornerbox and Channel 7 to ensure that the second series portrays the very best of our movement."

Series Three

Season three of ''Surf Patrol'' focused on the beaches of

, primarily the Northern

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

& Surfers Paradise SLSCs. Many episodes primarily feature Lifesavers Ryan Knight (Lifesaver of the Year), Kenny Lloyd (Surfers Paradise Patrol Captain) and Tom Abella (popular public figure) due to their relative popularity with viewers. The season debuted well, attracting an audience of 1.526 million viewers.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1208639, Surf Patrol Australian factual television series Seven Network original programming 2007 Australian television series debuts 2009 Australian television series endings Television shows set in Victoria (Australia) Television shows set in New South Wales Television shows set in Queensland