About Us
Celebrating 35 years in 2024, a new era begins for Coastwatch.
A journey to re-imagine one of Australia’s respected, trusted and legendary coastal media brands.
Our vision: to create the ultimate platform, digital destination and connection point for Australian coastal content, information, community, culture and commerce.
Our Backstory
For 25 years from 1989 to 2014, Coastwatch could either be seen, read and/or heard through major media outlets such as Channel 7, radio 4KQ, and a range of newspapers.
Coastwatch was founded by Ken “Brownie” Brown – a surfer, fisherman, sailor, skipper, and coastal weather expert, who brought together a unique expertise and understanding across a comprehensive array of coastal leisure activities.
The Brownie’s Coastwatch TV Show was a pioneering production, that ran over 300 episodes, bringing together a talented team.
It became a trusted authority and source of entertainment across boating, fishing, surfing, diving and seafood, coastal weather and safety, and also featured unique explorations into coastal biodiversity.
Coastwatch had a second life as a popular website, functioning primarily as a weather information service. After a lifetime commitment to coastal life, Ken Brown handed over the helm of Coastwatch, retiring in 2021.
We have catalogued and uploaded segments from across all 300 Brownie’s Coastwatch episodes in the Coastwatch Vault. There is some great history, timeless wisdom and fantastic entertainment to be enjoyed in over 500 videos.
A New Era
The new Coastwatch platform builds on the shoulders of our history, reviving, renewing and expanding the Coastwatch offering.
Coastwatch will continue as a publisher of valuable and reliable information. It revitalises production of premium new content, including expert masterclass series, and will be a channel for the best curated content across traditional and new subject categories, for a new generation.
We will continue to populate the Coastwatch Vault with other historic film and video content, alongside our own archive.
Importantly, Coastwatch will continue as a proactive educator and contributor to coastline preservation and ecology as well as promoting coastal safety – for example, through new weather service offerings.
Through investment in a powerful new online platform, Coastwatch 2.0 will be a staging and connection point for coastal commerce – now one of the most important industry sectors in the Australian economy.
This new platform will connect and drive value for product and service companies, asset owners, industry bodies, and consumers alike.
Our coastline remains a precious refuge amidst the haste, noise and pressures of our modern world.
A certain aloha spirit and celebration of the natural wonder, awesome beauty and simplicity of Australian coastal life and our coastline will continue at the heart of Coastwatch.
