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08/06/2006: "PRO LONG-DISTANCE SWIMMER ......in Sydney Harbour"

Ron Taylor (far left with his Bolex 16mm camera), Valerie Taylor (looking into water at Rose Bay), 27 year old blonde Mary Margaret Revell (center), her manager Keith (right)

She wanted to swim all the great challenges of the world, Gibraltar, New Zealand's Cook Straits, The English Channel. Now Mary Margaret Revell was about to conquer Sydney Harbour, not so difficult a swim but the harbour waters were still thought to be full of sharks.

It was 1965 and a few people had been chewed by big sharks in these waters.

The warm-up promotional swim was across The Heads - the entrance to Sydney Harbour. The news media were there when she arrived on the beach at Camp Cove on the southern entrance after a swim commencing at 7AM from North Head.

Three days later it was the longer swim. Manly wharf to a point near today's Sydney Opera House.

Three experienced divers were in the water as shark guards swimming nearby and with loaded .303 powerheads on spear guns – in retrospect a greater danger (especially if carelessly handled) than any inquisitive shark.

A newspaper hired us to take underwater photographs - thereby owning world rights to any shark attack picture should such an unfortunate event occur. Sydney Harbour was more polluted in those days with sewage from North Head reaching Manly and Balmoral beaches regularly. Visibility wasn't brilliant.

It was winter too. Our full length wet suits helped but the new innovative stitching leaked. Even with fins/flippers we found it hard to keep pace with Mary-Margaret, none of us snorkel divers did the entire swim without a rest.