‘Join the Float First’: A community call to prevent drowning in NZ's Pacific families

Pacific communities in Auckland are invited to join a mass floating event at the Karanga Plaza Pools on Friday, coinciding with World Drowning Prevention Day.

The “Float First” event, led by Drowning Prevention Aotearoa, aims to teach a vital life-saving skill to help prevent drownings, especially among at-risk Pacific families.

In an interview on Pacific Days, Nicola Keen-Biggelaar, the Chief Executive of Drowning Prevention Auckland, says the campaign is a time to remember lives lost and raise awareness within communities, particularly those most affected, such as the Pasifika community.

The event sees participants float for 74 seconds to raise awareness and honour the 74 lives lost to drowning in Aotearoa last year.

“The whole purpose of the day is to come together globally to remember that drowning is preventable,” Keen-Biggelaar says.

“Two of my team are floating for 74 minutes from midday through till 1.14pm, and there is an opportunity for the community to join us in floating at one o'clock for 74 seconds.

“The 74-second float symbolises the 74 lives lost to drowning across Aotearoa last year.”

Keen-Biggelaar says the number represents far more than a statistic. “74 people, too many. They are our sisters, our brothers, our fathers, our loved ones,” she says.

“And when you have experienced losing a family member or someone in your community, the ripple-on effect is significant.”

Photo /surflifesaving.org.nz

Between 2009 and 2019, Pacific people accounted for seven per cent of all coastal drowning fatalities in New Zealand, which is disproportionately higher than their representation among beachgoers and the general public.

According to Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s 10-Year Coastal Safety Report, Pacific people are especially at risk of drowning during food-gathering and recreational activities, often in unfamiliar or hazardous surf zones.

Over the last 10 years, Pacific people have recorded the highest drowning rate of any ethnicity in Aotearoa, closely followed by Māori.

The report reveals that 57 per cent of Pacific coastal fatalities occurred while people were fishing, swimming, or gathering kai moana, often without lifejackets or proper safety precautions, as noted by surflifesaving.org.nz.

Keen-Biggelaar echoes these concerns, highlighting how unintentional exposure to water is a common risk.

“Often, drownings happen while people are recreating and having fun, and they just haven't prepared enough,” she says.

“They might be gathering food for their family, and they're not wearing a lifejacket, or they've been out on a boat and they haven't been wearing a lifejacket, or they unintentionally end up in the water. So these things happen to good people.”

Keen-Biggelaar says Friday’s event hopes to gather as many participants as possible, each representing a life lost.

She highlighted the availability of translated resources to ensure that water safety information reaches Pacific communities.

She says by coming together to learn and remember, Pacific communities can help turn the tide on preventable drownings.

Watch Nicola Keen-Biggelaa's full interview below.

“We do have Cameron Brewer, a local MP, floating in a lifejacket. We have some board members floating, and some people from Auckland Council Pools are joining us.

“You can click on Float First there to learn about floating. There’s also a number of other e-learning modules that have been translated into Pacific languages, so I encourage you to have a look at those and share those with your loved ones.

“These are human beings that we love and adore, and we are all here to solve this together.”

For more information and resources on the Float First event, visit www.dpanz.org.nz