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Wednesday, August 31st Crown of Thorns starfish ...... an injury
 A few minutes after the thumb (right) was accidently pricked, the swelling became obvious. Extreme pain accompanies any CoT injury. Another example was a concert pianist who had a similar injury but in the joint of a finger - which was later amputated as a consequence. JH on 31.08.05 @ 11:49 PM AEST [link] CRUSADER OF THE REEF ....... Dr Robert Endean
 Pictured with coral eating starfish at Guam USA during Project Stellaroid - the first major international study of the coral reef pest Ancanthaster planci is Bob Endean, then Reader in Zoology at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Robert Endean had a tough time both at work and with certain branches of state politics with his stand for better environmental recognition of the Great Barrier Reef. Being a spokesman of bad news has many draw-backs. His book "The Great Barrier Reef" sold 40,000 copies in Australia and USA. He was writing new material for four mini-editions based upon the original when he suddenly took ill while at Heron Island Research Station and died several days later. Bob Endean's predictions relating to future cyclical starfish outbreaks on the northern reefs has proven his work accurate. The CoT problem has since been over-shadowed by global warming and coral bleaching issues. Dr Endean was often quoted in newspapers - a sin not easily forgotten by his peers. He saw newspapers and the media as necessary in communicating with the public (and to politicians) - while other scientists of his era just kept quiet. Bob had visions of producing marine documentary films but, sadly passed away just a few years before the digital revolution finally arrived. John Harding Crown of Thorns starfish...... "in 1962, reports of a strange bloom of these creatures surfaced from Green Island, just of Cairns in Queensland, Australia. The Queensland government asked Dr. Robert Endean, an Australian marine biologist who specialized in venomous sea creatures, to check it out. He returned from the field with tales of millions upon millions of starfish devouring the coral reefs around Green Island and other reefs on the Great Barrier Reef. He urged instant action. The government buried his report. He went to the press. The government said Endean was exhagerating, there was no problem, not really. Bob, furious, escalated the controversy but in the end, his report stayed buried until, years later, I (Dr Richard Chesher) managed to get the US State Department to request the report under a scientific trade agreement". JH on 31.08.05 @ 11:18 PM AEST [link] SEAPLANE IN TROUBLE Grumman Hu-16 sits on coral reef.
 While preparing for take-off our Guam based seaplane ripped open her hull open on a coral bommie at Kapingamarangi Atoll. Federated States of Micronesia Shortly afterwards the locals arrived by canoe to offer assistance. At this point in time the aircraft is still aground, no danger of sinking though as the reef was solid. JH on 31.08.05 @ 10:35 PM AEST [link] Tuesday, August 30th SPEAR FISHERMEN of Kapingamarangi
 Kali-o about to get back in the water. Overall length of his speargun about 10 feet! A very thin spear too. Speed and accuracy. JH on 30.08.05 @ 03:04 PM AEST [link] TEN FOOT-LONG SPEARGUN.......Kapingamarangi Atoll
 With the most simple trigger mechanism ever. A bolt and a rubber band. The head of the bolt grips a notch in the spear. JH on 30.08.05 @ 03:00 PM AEST [link] DIVER HAND-LINING. Kapingamarangi Atoll
 It might be interesting to know if aboriginal people of Taiwan used similar fishing techniques, since a link has been established between these true polynesians and the island people of further north in the Republic of China. JH on 30.08.05 @ 12:05 PM AEST [link] Loading a homemade speargun. Kapingamarangi Atoll
 The trigger had no metal parts. JH on 30.08.05 @ 12:01 PM AEST [link] Sunday, August 28th BREADFRUIT at Kapingamarangi Atoll
 Polynesians, history's greatest seafarers who settled islands across a vast area of ocean from Madagascar to Easter Island, originated in Taiwan, according to a new genetic study published in the journal Public Library of Science Biology. The study looked at mitochondrial DNA, which is passed along virtually unchanged from mothers to their children, to determine that clear similarities exist between nine indigenous Taiwan groups and ethnic Polynesians. Most Taiwanese today are decended from mainland Chinese who have arrived in the past four centuries. Jean Trejaut and Marie Lin of Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei lead the study and found that Taiwanese aboriginal populations have likely been genetically isolated from mainland Chinese for between 10,000 and 20,000 years. JH on 28.08.05 @ 05:53 PM AEST [link] NUKUORO ATOLL SUNSET
 An unstaged picture. Young Balabala just happened to be there. The crown of flowers on her head is a traditional custom. The color has been exaggerated here in post production for an effect. Another more natural picture is listed, Polynesian 'Princess' (23 December 2004) use SEARCH. The confusion has only recently been clarified. We 'found' young Balabala currently visiting Pohnpei, the district capital. JH on 28.08.05 @ 05:51 PM AEST [link] KAPINGAMARANGI ATOLL view from the seaplane
 JH on 28.08.05 @ 05:48 PM AEST [link] SEAPLANE Hu-16 at Nukuoro Atoll lagoon
 Name: Rick H. Location: Pocono Mtns. PA USA Saturday September 14, 2002 06:05:30 GMT "Brought back many memories. NAS Agana Guam, 1969-1970 Hu-16D's (BUNO's 273 / 264. Was Flight Crew Ordnanceman and had fun with the JATO's and smokes. Many, many hours and flts. to outer islands on SAR runs, some skunk runs, too! Again, thanks!" Source: www.hu-16.com General characteristics Hu-16 aircraft Crew: 2, pilot and co-pilot. Capacity: 5 passengers Length: 60 ft 7 in (18.5 m) Span: 80 ft 0 in (24.4 m) Height: 24 ft 5 in (7.4 m) Wing area: 883 ft² (82 m²) Empty: 20,000 lb (9070 kg) Maximum takeoff: 33,000 lb (15,000 kg) Powerplant: 2x Curtiss-Wright R-1820-76, 1425 hp (1063 kW) each Fuel capacity: 1075 US gal (4,000 L), plus 300 US gal (1,100 L) drop tanks JH on 28.08.05 @ 05:43 PM AEST [link] EASTERN CAROLINE ISLANDS.....near Nukuoro Atoll
 Some of the Taiwanese cultures have a history of building complex canoes capable of making long ocean going voyages. It may be that this is where the navigation skills originated. The Yami (Taiwanese aboriginal group) traditional stories tell of voyages to southern islands and battles with the inhabitants. The Yami traditional religous beliefs speak of the cosmos being arranged into eight levels, just as the traditional belief system of Samoa had eight heavens. Some of the tribes in Taiwan used to practice tattooing but it has been outlawed since the Japanese occupation at the end of the last century. Cultural exchange can be a two way process and it is possible that the Taiwanese picked up various skills from contact with other Pacific Islanders rather than actually taking the skills with them as they migrated. JH on 28.08.05 @ 05:41 PM AEST [link] Friday, August 26th BEAUTIFUL DAY on Australia's Great Barrier Reef
 No breeze, no clouds, warm clear water, a live coral reef - about as good as it can get. With all four factors occuring during one of the lowest of low tides it is a combintion that is a rare experience - say once every ten or more years. JH on 26.08.05 @ 12:59 PM AEST [link] LOW TIDE CORALS ... and charter boat
 The former Clump Point day trip vessel Friendship which took many thousands of visitors to the coral reef off Mission Beach. Owner Perry Harvey was one of the first to identify Crown of Thorns starfish 'plagues' in this region and waged a war not only against the starfish and the damage they were causing but also against authorities who tried to prevent Perry from killing the starfish that were killing the coral. Perry won. He has since retired and the starfish are now winning. The coral reef shown in these pictures is now completely destoyed. This is Ellison Reef. JH on 26.08.05 @ 12:55 PM AEST [link] GREEN TURTLE ......stranded by a low, low tide
 At this time of the year some of the lowest tides occur on the reef. An ideal time for an old fashioned reef walk, something no longer encouraged - due to potential destruction by clumsy feet. Once the main activity with reef tourism (in our grand-parents era). JH on 26.08.05 @ 12:46 PM AEST [link] Tuesday, August 23rd UNDERWATER COMEDY FILM......Rated (G)
 ......a scene from a comedy film where Captain C Weed (Ron Isbell) tests a shark repelling coat. (Narration  first test above water is on Jocelyn.....which seems to have the right effect. Now to try it underwater...... on a sleeping shovel nose shark.......PRESTO......(shark races away), now to test it on a dangerous species......like this one..... with teeth.......PRESTO AGAIN......Uh Oh......LOOK OUT!(Reverse action a Captain C. Weed leaps from the water backwards and goes into shock, shaking all over.......) Fade to black. Another sequence featured C Weed assisted by Jocelyn, fighting (rubber) sea snakes which later attacked him. Blobs of tomato sauce were substitutes for blood on his throat. Kids loved this scene and recognised the sauce instantly. JH on 23.08.05 @ 08:04 PM AEST [link] RON ISBELL as Captain C.Weed (an underwater comedy film).
 The idea was sparked during a dive trip aboard Sea Hunt with Captain Ron Isbell remembering his pioneering days underwater when equipment had to be home made. Inspiration for a comedy film was Pete Smith short films - once screened in cinemas as supporting black and white comedies. The original version premiered at an Oceans festival, Melbourne and 'brought the house down' with laughter. About 1,000 were in attendance. On film Captain C.Weed did some amazing stunts. Trick photography, camera running backwards. Now a bit corny, but all original. A shorter version appeared in Australian Seafari always being very popular with all ages. JH on 23.08.05 @ 07:43 PM AEST [link] WALLY MULLER
 A commercial hand-line fisherman who became a charter boat captain and owner. Established the first sleep-aboard and air compressor equipped dive boat, Coralita in 1969. For many years was the only fisherman with navigational knowledge of the Swain Reefs and the only who ventured there on a regular basis. Riversong Cay being named after his first boat. Wally was contracted by the US company, Gulf Oil to assist with their photographing the first aerial maps/charts of The Swain Reefs. (1964). Wally Muller supplied a radio base station at Gannet Cay that was a camp for two men in tents for months. Proceeds from this work enabled him to purchase a larger charter boat Careelah and later build the even larger Coralita. In 1967 he worked for several months as a pilot with Careelah during the infamous Belgian Expedition which saw 35mm educational films being produced by the University of Leige (by the university's director's son, an underwater cameraman Pierre Dubuisson) - who hired Ron and Valerie Taylor. Much of the diving and camera equipment was purchased second hand from the movie set of a James Bond film. The Belgian Navy provided their ex British minesweeper De Moor F905 for the expedition with a crew of 70. In 1971 Dewey Bergman of Sea and Sea dive travel, San Francisco was part of the dive expedition to Chesterfield Reef in The Coral Sea. The journey was featured by Ron Taylor (Taylor's Inerspace - ruby thatcheri) and cinema documentaries Queensland Seafari re-titled John Harding's Australian Seafari. Fathom magazine sparked the first speciality dive trips. Saumarez Reef in 1972 aboard Coralita. Lord Howe Island and Marion Reef destinations followed. There were no regulations or rules to follow. Consequently some near accidents occured. Other intenational dive travel companies then came to Australa. Bay Travel, La Mer Diving Safari (Amos Nachoum in New York) sent their tour groups with celebrity divers as hosts. In time all the leading marine photographers arrived with Marion Reef comparing favourably with The Red Sea destinations. Cameramen Al Giddings, Jack McKenney, Chuck Nicklin recorded scenes of savage sharks for various Hollywood films at Marion Reef and helped emphasise that sharks were more valueable alive than not. Explosive powerheads as a psychologial shark defense were banned on future dive trips, but this did not prevent Captain Wally having an accident himself (see details elsewhere here). Photographers David Doubilet, Irvin Rockman, writer Hillary Hauser helped promote Coralita with their contacts and work for National Geographic Magazine. Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau dived from Coralita while on an official visit. (John Sumner of Sydney was divemaster on behalf of the Australian Government). Wally Muller was a great admirer of the navigational skills of Mathew Flinders and attempted to visit all the coral reefs chartered and named by the famous British naval explorer. He succedeed with his quest all in the era before GPS navigational aids. A very difficult ambition to equal today. The boat and business name Barrier Reef Cruises was sold to former Tasmanian-based abalone diver Alby Ziebell. More material on Wally Muller and Coralita see files within SEARCH. JH on 23.08.05 @ 10:24 AM AEST [link] Monday, August 22nd LOBSTER
 It is illegal to 'take' rock lobster in NSW with the aid of scuba - but as long as they are not removed from the water, it's OK to photograph them. The giant rock lobster are now protected. It took decades before 'the penny dropped' and it was discovered these were the breeding stock. Divers Wally Gibbins and Vic Ley had suspected this for years - but the information was never followed through. Underwater model Christine Danaher was shown these pet lobster by Dennis Kemp when he ran a dive shop at Tuncurry NSW JH on 22.08.05 @ 07:59 AM AEST [link] Sunday, August 21st KAPINGAMARANGI (Greenwich Island)
 This might be how RAAF pilot's saw these tiny islands which form an atoll back in 1941-42. Not much would have changed by the time this picture was taken from an open hatch of a US Navy Hu-16 seaplane in 1969. JH on 21.08.05 @ 05:49 PM AEST [link] UNDERWATER BOMB at Kapingamarangi Atoll
 Amongst the WW2 aircraft wreckage in the lagoon at Kapinga is this exploded bomb. Questions: Was it from one of the RAAF Hudson bombers based at Rabaul who attacked the Japanese weather station in December 1941 and January 1942? Could the surrounding underwater aircraft wreckage be that of a lost RAAF bomber? This Japanese mandate island was, in late 1941, the nearest Japan held territory to Australia. Eye witnesses saw anti-aircraft fire explode a bomb being dropped - which subsequently destroyed the attacking aircraft killing the entire crew. Author David Vincent says: Thank you very much for contacting me as I'm very interested in RAAF Hudson operations and all (or most of) my research is going in to a two volume coverage of the subject. Book One has been out for a few years and at present I'm trying to complete Book Two but of the four main chapters that dealing with 'Operations North Eastern Area' (covering essentially the New Britain/New Guinea ops) is the one I'm trying to complete at present. I can therefore tell you with certainty that no Hudsons were lost in the raids on Kap, so if the story is true about the bomb then it wasn't a Hudson that dropped it. I have quite a lot of info on the Kap raids by Hudsons but nothing about what happened later. I feel that, by then, if anyone was still attacking the place it must have been the Yanks. djvincent@chariot.com">djvincent@chariot.com.au JH on 21.08.05 @ 12:36 PM AEST [link] Friday, August 19th CARPET SHARK (Wobbegong)
 Probably not a good idea to get too close to the front end of a resting Carpet Shark. They have a fast snapping ability and have been known to bite spear fisherman's heads. After holding for a few seconds they cough in order to make a bigger bite - this is the time to get free. Too much struggling beforehand results in a worse injury. Teeth are pointed, and finger-like, similar to the grey nurse and remotely similar with a mako (blue pointer). Injuries would therefore be punctures. Any ripping would be caused by the person's own struggles. Wobbegong sharks have become less common - especially large one's as pictured in this Coffs Harbour NSW cave with UW model Christine Danaher. Desperate-for-income professional lobster fishermen have been targeting them. Wobbegong could be given a form of protection soon. It's ironic that lobster frequent the caves to live near these sharks. Octopus seek lobster, wobbegong eat octopus - the mortal enemy of the lobster. Remove any one of the three and the remainders suffer. East coast lobster were first to go into serious decline. The wobbegong flesh is the highest grade of shark (flake) and lacks the euric-acid aroma of other sharks 'meat'. I would not eat it, but many do who are not fussy and want a 'fish' without bones. The white fillets are of similar cost to most 'B' grade whole fish prices, about $15-18 per kilo at today's prices. JH on 19.08.05 @ 09:50 PM AEST [link] NUKUORO ATOLL 1969
 "The girl from Nukuoro is Adalaide. When I saw it, I knew right away it was her. She is here on Pohnpei and I talked to her about the picture". (Message received today re this picture, part of a sequence taken with a Nikon F and 135mm lens a while ago. Fasinating to locate an almost total stranger after such a time). Nukuoro Atoll is within the Federated States of Micronesia. The Eastern Caroline Islands. The district center is Pohnpei. More pictures: Kapingamarangi Atoll - use SEARCH. JH on 19.08.05 @ 07:55 PM AEST [link] Thursday, August 18th LIZARD ISLAND ......Queen of the Isles
 View from half-way up the hill on Lizard Island. I was impressed in 1967 when Wally Muller climbed this small mountain with his bare feet. Not too hard today with the nice track. What makes this picture historic is the large white 'ship' anchored in the bay. This is Queen of the Isles which at one time ran a weekly cruise between Cairns and Thursday Island. She called at Lizard on the forward and return journey's - meaning you could hop off and camp in your tent in the National Park for just $3 a night - or pay something like $750 a night at 'the lodge', per person. Campers (and other boating visitors) are still definately NOT WELCOME beyond the high tide mark but only at the resort's small area of leased land. Elsewhere is National Park. You can fly there from Cairns. Whatever happened to Queen of the Isles would be an interesting story. On the trip we had, the ship had mechanical problems after Lizard Island and failed to reach Thursday Island as planned. The guest book the next week was full of complaints. "Cruise boat to hell" being one of the more entertaining scribbles. We had a great cruise. A rough old boat but full of charm and a good crew. I just wish the ship was still runnning to TI. This picture will also show the coral reef that once was located at this anchorage. As numerous boats have since been there - the coral reef will not and cannot last. Update: 6 March 2007 - A website for Queen of the Isles has just been started reports former crew member 'Andy'. The ship herslef was lost during a cyclone in the Solomon Islands more recently. Maybe a good story for a movie? JH on 18.08.05 @ 06:27 PM AEST [Queen of the Isles">link] SOLARIZATION SHARK
 Special effect on a grey nurse shark portrait. JH on 18.08.05 @ 06:05 PM AEST [link] NORTH REEF LIGHTHOUSE
 The most beautiful lighthouse on the entire Great Barrier Reef is rarely seen by visitors. Similar looking to the light at Low Isles, this one is at the opposite end of the GBR near to Heron Island. Nearby is the wreckage of the steam ship Cooma. Jaws author, Peter Benchley went diving and filming here and by chance briefly met a large white pointer shark. The shark kept travelling, which was a blessing for all concerned. Peter later swam with and was filmed dangerously close to a pair of feeding tiger sharks at Sykes Reef, the same location where legendary diver Wally Gibbins met his infamous 11' 1" monster. JH on 18.08.05 @ 06:00 PM AEST [link] Wednesday, August 17th SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE portion of a head shot.
 The most difficult of all underwater subjects, a huge creature, dark water, slow-speed film and a medium format camera. Shown today, published for the first time is this head shot of the mother Southern Right Whale in Sydney Harbour. On the parent's back out of frame was her lighter-colored calf. See following pictures. In 1967 whales were increbibly rare items. Journalist Mike Perry spotted this pair swimming off Balmoral Beach while he was having an early morning swim. It was the first day of spring. Later that morning we collected Mike, found the whales and got these pictures for the newspaper where he worked, a tabloid called The Sun. The pictures appeared next day, and the day following when it was realised how rare this species was and still is. In that era I thought all whales swallowed people whole! I know how incredibly brave I felt taking this picture - both hands had fingers crossed. "Please don't swallow me" was a thought. I had to shoot 12 pictures (a full roll) to prove it was safe before anyone else would get in the water with me! Today we know this species to be docile, and of course we would not attempt to touch them. It could be said we helped this pair by actually herding them out of the harbour and away from high speed hydrofoil ferries and other craft that may have collided with them. The original negative shows signs of ageing and neglect. It is the only frame taken of the mother because of the technical difficulty and perceived (false) risk. JH on 17.08.05 @ 03:07 PM AEST [link] Southern Right Whale Calf - Sydney Harbour
 Riding on the mother's back, this 5.5 meter long whale calf. Perhaps the first time this species had been photographed underwater too, which makes this an historic image. Almost forty years of dust and handling create character - perhaps? It is relatively easy to clean old shots with various computer programmes, but in this case I present the original as it is in the raw. The torn negative occured in the office of one of the world's leading magazine's overseas. The magazine returned the torn neg without apology or explanation - thereby avoiding the question of a substantial compensation. JH on 17.08.05 @ 02:50 PM AEST [link] Southern Right Whale Calf above mother
 Unfortunately a very soft-focus shot, actually it's out of focus. There is probably a computer program that would sharpen this otherwise delightful study - one day. Published today for the first time. JH on 17.08.05 @ 02:39 PM AEST [link] Touching whale calf tail
 My companion, JF holds the tail of the calf, momentarily. It responds with a quick 'flick'. JH on 17.08.05 @ 02:36 PM AEST [link] CHEAP THRILLS
 Riding the surf this way was a real thrill - our boats were full of diving gear, expensive underwater camera's - much to lose. While my father John M Harding drove our DeHavilland Tempest I photographed friends Ron Taylor and Rodney Fox in Ron's Tradewind also with a 40 HP outboard. Location was the southern beach at Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island, off Brisbane. In those days it was our favourite destination for underwater action. Other pictures from this expedition can be seen by using SEARCH (use Point Lookout as keyword). The pattern in the sky? Fake. This represents high-rise buildings of Surfers Paradise which are some 50 nautical miles in that direction. Eventually a bridge will connect the two Stradbroke Islands with the northern Gold Coast then Brisbane residents will have fantastic beaches much closer to their city. That day might yet be some decades away. Presently a vehicular ferry connects the island to the mainland. JH on 17.08.05 @ 02:22 PM AEST [link] Tuesday, August 16th TROPIC ROVER .......Charter boat
 Tropic Rover anchored for the evening near North Reef - the photogenic lighthouse and coral reef. This is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group of islands and reefs. Heron Island is nearby. As the name suggests, this is near the Tropic of Capricorn. On board Tropic Rover this night was a documentary filming team. Big names in USA today. Marty Snyderman, Howard Hall, Chip Matherson, Tom Allen and Australian underwater model Chrissy Danaher who was part of the boat crew. More text and pictures covering the work, adventures and life of Ron Isbell is now being compiled. JH on 16.08.05 @ 05:04 PM AEST [link] Monday, August 15th SAUMAREZ REEFS ........shipwreck watercolor artwork
 The USS Francis Preston Blair was a 7,196 ton Liberty Ship that slid onto Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea during the closing stages of WWII. Rumour was the ship had been hit in the bow by a torpedo and was run aground to save her cargo. This was denied but it does not explain the explosion hole in the ship's bow, except the Royal Australian Air Force owns the wreck and uses her for target practice. Saumarez Reef is approx 250 nautical miles east of the Australian coast near to the Tropic of Capricorn. The Saumarez Reefs are the southernmost reefs to be located on the Coral Sea Shelf, being located 85 km to the east of the Great Barrier Reef's Swain Reefs and 95 km to the southwest of the Frederick Reefs. The Saumarez Reefs consist of three main reefs and numerous smaller reefs that form a large crescent-shaped formation, measuring 39 km across, that is open to the northwest. There are two sand cays: North East Cay and South West Cay. Source:oceandots.com JH on 15.08.05 @ 07:59 PM AEST [link] Sunday, August 14th COMMERCIAL DIVING
 A few minutes after this picture was taken, the commercial diver (pictured) was blown up when his thermic lance 'backfired' in an underwater explosion that almost killed him. Much later he was still going through the law court's to get a compensation payment from his workers insurance. The ship in question had a four-blade bronze prop. One blade dropped off at sea due to a fault or a collision. A maritime strike was costing the ship owners heaps. No early hope of dry dock repairs, so something which might allow it to keep running was the alternative. There was too much vibration occuring to run the ship with the prop seriously out of balance. Solution? Remove underwater the opposite blade to the one missing, and run at less rev's with two blades. The underwater picture shows bright metal where the propellor blade detached itself. Commercial diver Eric Buchanan's face and his fingers barely visible in the Darling Harbour murky waters. To cut metal underwater a thermic lance is the device to use, an incredible invention. The lance is of a magnesium-type metal tube with pure oxygen fed through a hose to the pre-heated red hot tip. A gas pocket build-up in the metal must have ignited. THUMP! Eric floated to the surface unconscious. His assistant diving tender then jumped in to rescue him. Eric was taken by ambulance to hospital, with his condition listed as critical. (A hospital doctor mistaking the purple birth-mark on Eric's neck as associated with the underwater explosion was the reason for initial concern, plus bleeding from his ears). Years later Eric Buchanan contacted sought pictures of his rescue and injury which may have assisted as evidence for the insurance claim. Eric died before a settlement payout was made, about 27 years after the accident! This picture in negative form had been in unmarked files and 'surfaced' only this week. It may not have helped Eric much, but it does serve as reminder of the event and questions some marine insurance coverages. NOTE:The product is terrific heat as the lance burns away rapidly, fed by the oxygen, the BROCCO cutting system (ultra thermic lance.) This device comprised of a magnesium welding rod and high pressure O2, burns at over ten thousand degrees fahrenheit. The system was originally devised by the US navy and was first utilised during the salvage of the wreckage from the Pearl Harbour aftermath (WW2). (source: DiverDan) JH on 14.08.05 @ 11:42 AM AEST [link] Saturday, August 13th ABALONE DIVER 1967
 Commercial fishing for abalone began in the early 1960s with annual catch rates of between 200 and 400 tonnes, peaking at 1,200 tonnes in 1971. However, by 1977 a combination of heavy fishing and bad storms caused catches to fall to around 300 tonnes. Concern about the state of the resource led a 1979 Parliamentary inquiry to recommend that the abalone and sea urchin fishery become a restricted entry fishery. This occurred in the following year when only 59 divers were granted access to the restricted fishery - down from more than 100 divers in 1979. The number of divers was progressively reduced to address excessive fishing effort and now stands at 42. Individual catch quotas were introduced in 1989. The share management scheme began in 1996 and in early 2000 the abalone share management plan was gazetted. There are currently 48 shareholders with most of them using nominated divers. Source: www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au Footnote: No mention in the above fisheries text of the years of pleading by divers for some form of size protection to prevent grossly under-sized abalone being taken. Abalone the size of 50 cent coins were taken from Tathra NSW area, for example, by greedy professional divers who had no care for the future. The fisheries department was slow to act, in the 1960's, according to some in the industry who supplied this information. VICTORIA The commercial fishery commenced in 1962. The fishery has been relatively stable and remunerative. At present there are eighteen processors operating, with most being concentrated in the Central Zone. There are 71 licensed divers. The combined Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) for the fishery is currently 1,359 tonnes with an estimated landed value of $AUD60M at 2002/03 average prices. (Tasmania has a quota of about 2,500 tonnes to be taken each year). Picture: Profesional licensed diver, Clarke Espie at Mallacoota, Victoria where the abalone were always more plentiful and larger than the NSW grounds. Abalone poacher 'gives up' By Mark Phillips 01aug05 THE birth of twins in March may have achieved what fisheries authorities failed to do for three decades: force Australia's most notorious abalone poacher to give up the game. A Melbourne court was told today that David Campbell 'Cam' Strachan – who has led enforcement officers and police on cat and mouse chases for 35 years – wanted to hang up his pirate flag. Nothing previously had been able to stop him: neither jail nor more than $1 million in fines and property seizures since his first poaching charge in 1970. But Strachan's lawyer, Philip Dunn, QC, told the Victorian County Court that the birth of Strachan's twins was a catalyst in the 53-year-old Melbourne Grammar-educated man's decision to go straight. For years, Strachan was the kingpin in a thriving black market for poached abalone, teasing authorities in several high-speed chases on the high seas - which included helicopters and arrests at gunpoint. But he has also clocked up scores of convictions in two states. "He has been a serious pirate of the sea but the pirate has hung up his flag because the game is not worth the candle any more," Mr Dunn told Judge Margaret Rizkalla today. Strachan, of East Brighton, is appealing against an 18-month jail sentence imposed by a Melbourne magistrate last year for selling 690kg of poached abalone (about 6525 individual abalone) to an undercover fisheries officer. In doing so, he breached a 10-year prohibition from possessing even a single abalone, a highly sought-after seafood delicacy particularly popular in Asian cuisine. Victoria and Tasmania are two of the last viable abalone habitats in the world, but the species is threatened even there, and fishing is strictly regulated through licences. When Strachan sold the abalone in the middle of 2003, he had only just been released from jail after serving a nine-month sentence, and had a further suspended sentence hanging over him, from a previous conviction in June 2002. He also owed more than $600,000 in penalties and fines for offences in Tasmanian waters. "He is a marked man," Mr Dunn told the court. "He might as well have a skull and crossbones on the back of his boat when he launches into the water." Mr Dunn said three factors had led to Strachan turning his life around. First, he was being treated for a psychological condition similar to bi-polar disorder, he said. Second he had begun a boat-building business with the assistance of a $600,000 investment from an acquaintance. But the biggest change was becoming a father again to twins born prematurely in March. Robert Johnston, for Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), said Strachan had shown a "persistent, gross disregard of the law" and should be punished accordingly. The DPP is seeking a sentence of up to five years in jail and $140,000 in fines, plus more than $27,000 in costs for money paid to Strachan in the undercover sting. Strachan is not opposing a lifetime ban on possessing, harvesting, fishing or processing abalone, which would also prevent him from being on board any registered fishing boat in Victorian waters. Judge Rizkalla has reserved her decision until next Monday. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Campbell 'Cam' Strachan. A previous abalone poaching case study. 10 December 2004 in Melbourne's magistrates court, David Campbell Strachan pleaded guilty to 21 abalone poaching offences and was sentenced to an 18-month prison term. Since 1971, Strachan has received in excess of 100 abalone poaching convictions, fines totalling more than $1 million and more than 10 years of prison sentences, including suspended terms. Three of his boats have been confiscated in Tasmania, and legislation was introduced in that state to ban Strachan from the state's waters in anything smaller than a Bass Strait ferry. JH on 13.08.05 @ 08:09 PM AEST [link] Friday, August 12th DUNBAR RELICS
 Top: Coins with holes drilled in them indicates they were worn on neck chains, probably by crew. Centre: Silver ornate tablespoon Bottom: Gold soverigns, including rare Australia edition. All pre 1857 Pictures: fathom magazine (1971) JH on 12.08.05 @ 09:47 PM AEST [link] KATHY TROUTT
 Holder of the deepest dive by a woman on scuba (Guinness Book of Records) when she was just seventeen years of age. Pictured here about two years later, with tea token coins collected from the Dunbar shipwreck site near the entrance to Sydney Harbour. The Dunbar was bringing immigrants from England - her lengthy voyage ended at her destination. Only one person survived the wreck, 121 didn't. The wreck site is just south of The Gap at Sydney's entrance to it's harbour. The wreck is protected but after 148 years there is not much left amongst the rubble. Human bones were found under boulders 'recently' but were washed away by the surge before proper recording's could be made. Kathy Troutt's first film appearances were in Ben Cropp documentaries, Mermaids in Paradise and others. Later she made appearances in Skippy - The Bush Kangaroo (TV series) with one episode called Marine Biologist written for her. Overseas work in Hollywood films relating to the ocean followed her success in the UK in a live dolphin 'pantomine' show. Day of the Dolphin with George C. Scott and Blue Lagoon, with Brooke Shields - filmed in Fiji. Ron Taylor doing the UW filming. Kathy was married to a film cameraman - director, and now lives on the Gold Coast. JH on 12.08.05 @ 03:11 PM AEST [link] BENT.......in George Street, Sydney (story)
 Pictured at a park in Broome (WA) a one-man recompression chamber, or iron coffin for many. The former Mick Simmons dive store in Haymarket, under the direction of ex Royal Australian Navy diver, Wally Reynolds, installed one of these (new) recompression chambers. One day I was the recipient of a dangerous skin bends while experimenting with Wally Reynolds: Impossible to get bent without going diving! Not if you play around inside a recompression chamber. Wally Reynolds was soon to take 17 year-old Kathy Troutt on her world record scuba dive for women. I was missing from my job nearby. I’d taken the day’s takings to a bank nearby and slipped in to the shop with a bag of fruit for the dive shop staff, as I often did. Removing my leather apron and fruit case axe-hammer, at Wally’s invitation, I slid into the steel recompression chamber for a trial deep dive. The justification being, I was planning a deep dive on the Birchgrove Park shipwreck (at 165 feet) and had never been below 60 feet deep so far. I was curious as to how easier or difficult ear-clearing might be. Wally suggested I get in the chamber and do a dive without getting wet. Wally then closed the lid and opened valves to increase the internal pressure with compressed air until I was at a depth equivalent to 180 feet. This took a few minutes. The air was very cold. I communicated with the outside via a microphone; there was a viewing window at face level. My voice developed the ‘Donald Duck’ tone (as per helium gas). After a short time at this depth, I was given a rapid return to the surface pressure. This was the mistake. Climbing out, Wally asked how I felt. OK except my legs are ‘all prickly’. Although nothing was said, it was fortunate Wally recognised the symptoms and did not hesitate to correct the situation. Back into the chamber for another pressurisation this time with a slower ‘return to the surface pressure’. Years later R.E. Grounds, an experienced commercial diver with oil rig dive operations diagnosed the itchy legs sensation as rather serious ‘skin bends’. Whatever became of Wally Reynolds and his diving career is unknown. Kathy Troutt had an interesting career with movies and dolphin, especially. My dive on the Birchgrove Park went smoothly. A rapid decent to the bottom. I’ve never had any ear clearing problems and can clear as fast as I can swim in a vertical position. Maybe the dive in the chamber helped the ears all those years ago? JH on 12.08.05 @ 06:52 AM AEST [link] Thursday, August 11th SIDESHOW ALLEY .......Royal Easter Show in Sydney
 A professional diver (BC) gave me the job he didn't want. That of an attendant in a sideshow called TERRORS OF THE DEEP (Live Exhibits). See Marbuk the Killer Crocodile, giant sharks AND MONSTERS OF THE DEEP! Inside the tent was a small tank of baby crocodiles, everything else was stuffed! (Plaster casts actually). I was the only person in the tent. Well paid, but the only target for regular abuse from disgruntled punters who obviously expected a huge aquarium of live monsters. It was a ten-day long education and experience. I was being paid about double what other sideshow workers seemed to be getting. The cash was needed to buy myself a brand new Rolleiflex camera in an underwater Rolleimarin housing. Kai Hansen, a crocodile farmer, was the owner of the show. After a few days they made him remove the live baby crocs as it was against showgrounds policy. One disgruntled couple were lawyers who threatened to sue for false presentation or something. I entertained them by pointing out they should watch the faces of people entering the tent....all the girls laughed and smiled at the con while the boys were grumpy at having 'wasted' cash. (To be expected at many sideshows). In the end it was so busy nobody took any notice of me in a corner. I was being paid to stand there! Soon afterwards I became a 'professional underwater photographer' with large sized transparencies that were then essential for magazine covers and inside pages. It would be several years before 35mm transparencies could be used in magazines as new printing techniques were introduced. Fathom (an underwater) magazine was at the front of this revolution with printing made in Hong Kong, and magazines shipped to Australia and later USA for distribution. We avoided publishing a date on the magazine cover as wharf worker strikes were common back then. JH on 11.08.05 @ 10:13 AM AEST [link] CARTON OF BEER .......aboriginal ladies outside hotel
 At Borooloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria all the beer glasses are made of plastic. We did a film night in the beer garden of the hotel. This was at the front gate. More interesting as an oil painting. JH on 11.08.05 @ 09:44 AM AEST [link] THREE TEENAGE ABORIGINAL GIRLS
 Waiting for the ticket box to open at Ceduna, South Australia, outside the public hall for a matinee session of our 16mm travelling film show. We'd let the poor kids in for free if they'd help stack the chairs and sweep-up after the night show. That way it often took five minutes (instead of thirty) to leave the hall tidy again - part of the terms of rental. JH on 11.08.05 @ 09:39 AM AEST [link] Wednesday, August 10th LAUNCHING CANOE .......eastern tip of New Guinea
 While sailing between Madang, New Guinea and Cairns, Australia we stopped at an atoll off Milne Bay just in time to see a huge canoe being launched. JH on 10.08.05 @ 07:50 PM AEST [link] SAILING CANOE.....New Guinea
 Not a single piece of metal was used to hold this canoe together. The sail is hand-woven too. Rapidly being replaced by fibre glass and aluminium boats - almost a relic of the past. JH on 10.08.05 @ 07:45 PM AEST [link] Tuesday, August 9th FISH RIGHTS .......this picture says it all.
 Fish deserve better rights than what we have given them.....or am I just becoming soft? This picture says a lot, the gallant fight the little long tom type garfish is putting up....but it won't be enough. If people knew how spear fishing competitions wasted fish during the 1960's they'd throw rotten eggs at the competitors today. There were fish that should have been left alone, speared for the sake of a point score that is next to meaningless today. All those rocky reefs around Sydney - virtually everything 100 nautical miles, north and south was wiped out. All the little maori, ruxton, cale, cockies, parrotfish, silver drummer, ling, and even at one time, blue devil fish were speared and then thrown back in the sea. The better grade fish was kept. (A bit like what prawn trawlers do every night, but the difference was, spearing was in shallower waters where people may have enjoyed snorkeling in the future). It's the same region where today, a mysterious disease is effecting what abalone exist there. The taking of commercial abalone from this region 100 miles either side of Sydney has been banned for some months. Southern tip of Jervis Bay to Shoal Bay approximately. Spear fishing comps are still a great diving intro to the sea. A better point scoring system should have been thought of that did not involve killing and waste. Something that TV sports would pick-up. Then the door opens ....... as it did for surfing. With today's tiny TV camera's anything is possible. JH on 09.08.05 @ 05:53 PM AEST [link] CAIRNS GAME FISHING CLUB
 This would be a rare thing to see at Cairns today. Maybe at Lizard Island though. The big fish are still coming back, but not as many as when this picture was made in 1973. JH on 09.08.05 @ 01:25 PM AEST [link] THE WEIGH-IN
 Big fish always attract plenty of attention when taken from the sea. This was the waterfront at Cairns when the biggest fish were brought home. Today they are mostly 'tagged then released'. JH on 09.08.05 @ 01:18 PM AEST [link] MORNING SWIM
 Aged 80 and enjoying the surf at Coffs Harbour's Park Beach is John Michael Harding. A great suggestion for us all to stay fit and healthy. It's never automatic and requires adjustments. JH on 09.08.05 @ 12:13 PM AEST [link] Monday, August 8th RON TAYLOR ...... 1965
 Ron Taylor portrait - illustrates his arrival back in Australia with his World (spear fishing) Championship trophies. Ron was being interviewed by radio station 2SM for their news bulletin. Australia's first and only world champion of free diving spear fishing. To get the team to Tahiti, (at the time Boeing707 air tickets cost almost ten times more than today) Ron Taylor made a 16mm documentary which acknowledged QANTAS airways. The skindivers magazine gave display advertising space, and others raffled a giant lobster (that story will appear later) and ran dances and film nights. A lot of fund-raising occured, and it paid-off. The welcome home dinner was held at the Associated Motor Club (Australia's answer to Las Vegas at the time). Ron Taylor quit two years later, then what was the point? The 'Australian Champion' title suddenly lost it's glow with most of the main competition gone elsewhere to become profesional abalone divers. Then scuba diving began it's phenomenal run pushed by PADI, NAUI arriving in Australia. JH on 08.08.05 @ 10:21 AM AEST [link] Sunday, August 7th BYRON BAY and SHARKS
 This picture was taken the day before a diver was eaten by a big shark at this location. For three previous days I'd guessed conditions were ideal for sharks - my surfer friends were skeptical. The signs noted were: 1. Whales migrating along and close to the coast 2. a dolphin school in the bay 3. big schools of mullet being netted at the point 4. seagulls diving and feeding on small bait fish in the bay 5. Windless calm sea - allowing sounds to travel easier and further. The migrating whales would be the key warning sign - especially as Cape Byron is the most easterly extremity of the coast. We believe big white pointer (great white) sharks take advantage of whales giving birth. These sharks follow the whales just as predator animals follow the great herds in Africa. Weak whales are potential food. So are any other things in the path of these big sharks. The diver 'eaten' was noted to be using a regulator which squarks when air pressure in the tank is critically low - as when decompressing. This is what was happening when the accident occured. It didn't keep divers out of the water for very long. About two days. I wasn't one of the team that was first to get wet again - not when the weather had changed - vis dropped to about three meters, a strong SW wind blew in - and nobody knew if there were any other big sharks around or not! Note: I was visiting Byron Bay several years earlier when another person, a surfer, with the same surname (Ford) was killed by a shark-bite. What are the odds of that happening? JH on 07.08.05 @ 07:16 PM AEST [more..] BLUE GROPER
 Natural light and high speed film used here at Julian Rocks, Byron Bay. Cleaner wrasse at work on a blue groper. Wherever these little wrasse are found, you will see a host of larger marine life taking benefit. A cleaner station is therefore the richest region to dive. Yet no one so far seems to give these little fish the credit they deserve. Seems like it would be a good idea to elevate the status of these little fellows and do our best to keep them out of all aquariums of the future, no exceptions. Blue groper were heavily spear fished until given protection. Usually the smaller brown female changes her sex when at about 8 kilo's to then become a male blue. JH on 07.08.05 @ 06:39 PM AEST [link] SHARK with remora suckerfish
 In southern Queensland an adult grey nurse with three remora suckerfish. Unusual. JH on 07.08.05 @ 05:50 PM AEST [link] Thursday, August 4th YELLOWTAIL KINGFISH at Seal Rocks
 Once found in great schools numbering in the tens of thousands, but no more. The kingie has gone into decline - overfishing being the probable cause. The Kingfish was a favourite food for grey nurse sharks - an obvious link between food and predator here. Take the food away and the predator seeks other food elsewhere. Kingie traps devised by fishermen at Seal Rocks decades ago - and kept secret for years. Eventually others copied the simple and effective design and in a few short years the kingfish were almost wiped out. JH on 04.08.05 @ 11:58 PM AEST [link] SEAL ROCKS MEMOIRS
 Seal Rocks NSW is about 3.5 hours north from Sydney by road. Although mostly simple homes make up the villiage, the values are astro. Offshore are two interesting rocky islets, one was once was base for a colony of sea lion, eventually they were gone. These waters have been very productive for stunning underwater pictures over the years. We photographed a giant whale shark here once and did well from the photo sales. Main picture features Ron Taylor when he was the Australian spearfishing champion. Shipwrecks, shark schools, big lobster and a great place for a non-commercial holiday. There is a camping ground, a post office store and that's about it. A walk to the lighthouse on Sugarloaf Point is definately worthwhile - every day. Morning and dusk. The last 3km of dusty dirt road in from the main road discourages some - probably a good thing. Closest other (larger) holiday town is Forster about 40 minutes away to the north. JH on 04.08.05 @ 11:09 AM AEST [link] Tuesday, August 2nd SCHOOL OF SHARKS and a diver
 EXCLUSIVE - FIRST TIME PUBLISHED PICTURE. Here's a school of NSW grey nurse sharks - 'thought to be endangered'. In reality they are clever at avoiding boat-loads of scuba divers trying to count them. The noise underwater involved with a dive boat arriving and anchoring is substantial - it must be experienced to be believed. The dozing sharks learn and move off when the sounds tell them learner-divers with flashlights are on their way. Grey nurse are noctural and twilight feeders that mostly seem to rest by day. The protective ban on catching them or fishing near the known grey nurse pit-stops is positive for the underwater environment - and the sharks. JH on 02.08.05 @ 04:50 PM AEST [link] GIANT FLATHEAD caught by diver
 Vic Ley is a master spearman - his keeen eyesight is an advantage that helped him become an Australian Champion. He picked up this huge flathead near South West Rocks - Vic says similar sized fish live on the sandy floor of the Hastings River mouth at Port Macquarie but rarely take a line fisherman's bait. JH on 02.08.05 @ 03:18 PM AEST [link] Monday, August 1st GREAT BARRIER REEF UNDERWATER GIRL
 Location here is Againcourt Reef, serviced by the Quiksilver boats out of Port Douglas and Cairns. A good introduction to the reef for anyone. This is Debbie from USA. JH on 01.08.05 @ 01:48 PM AEST [link] |
