About

How it all came about

My name is Warwick Bergen, Founder and Director of Pontoon Stairs international.

As with most people involved in the maritime industry today, I loved the water from an early age.

I have always enjoyed what the ocean can offer. Activities like swimming, fishing & diving have been something I’ve always enjoyed.

After obtaining my coxswains certificate, I started working on the water in the late
1990s. Working as a Crocodile catcher with Parks and Wildlife Commission NT, I was involved in the removal of Crocodiles from the Darwin Harbour & Shoal Bay areas as well as other tourist areas throughout the top end.

This was the first job that started me on the journey delving into water safety. We
noticed there were a lot of existing & new developments that really restricted the
egress from the water.

We used to make comment that there should be easier & more accessible ways to get out of the water quickly if a Croc or shark was in the area.

Over the years I changed jobs multiple times but often ended up working back on the water.

I was working with a local council cleaning rubbish from canal structures on Bribie Island when my work colleague ended up in the water overextending to pick up some rubbish. He was a big fella, reasonably fit & a good swimmer, but he couldn’t get onto any structure, pontoon or other to get out of the water. There were no obvious ladder structures, stairs of anything to assist him out of the water. We
eventually used the outboard to bring him back onto the boat.

During the time with the council, we also had multiple call outs to pick up dead dogs & wildlife that had become victims of these canal structures. It really hit home when I had to assist removing a body from the canal & I was unable to climb the offset ladders to drag the corpse onto dry land.

It soon became clear that reports of preventable drownings were coming in every month, highlighting the urgent need for proper infrastructure.

Drownings in canals, marinas and jetties were becoming more evident. That’s when I thought it was time to do something about it.

I looked at existing infrastructure & designed a range of stairs that could easily be adapted to floating & fixed wall structures to assist the swimmer & potential first responder. I knew we needed infrastructure that would aid all involved.

At the start of 2024 I took the first steps in developing the new idea. After talking with marine safety QLD who thought it was a worthy project, the idea started to take shape.

I engaged maritime engineers to fully engineer my drawings & incorporated relevant Australian & Maritime Standards into the designs. Once this was complete, I patented the design.

To date, Australian Standards have taken a great interest in this development &
look to incorporate this as a new Australian Standard.

The aim of this project is to reduce all drownings that needlessly occur due to
insufficient infrastructure. Humans, pets, even wildlife will all benefit from being able to get out of the water. (Perhaps not the crocs or sharks).

My only regret is that I didn’t do this sooner & lives have been lost in the mean
time.