Search

The Commonwealth Marine Salvage Board was set up in Australia in 1942 to cope with the huge amount of salvage and ship rescue work which came about during World War Two. Two diver training schools were set up by the Board to cope with the critical shortage of skilled salvage divers. Many of the trained divers continued as professional commercial divers after the war and were involved in some amazing diving experiences, all of which are now part of Australia's rich diving heritage. One such diver was Harry Chadwick from Melbourne, who trained with the Salvage Board at 23 years of age. Harry kept a detailed diary of his diving assignments throughout the war and for 30 years thereafter, during his diving career with the United Salvage Co, run by Capt. J.P Williams of the Niagara gold recovery fame.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Australia was a tiny penal colony, remote, surrounded by water, and half a world away from the Industrial Revolution that was taking place in the Northern Hemisphere. Over the following 100 years, with ingenuity and improvisation, Australians built cities, industries, and infrastructure, while forging a vibrant young nation ready to take its place on the world stage. Critical to this remarkable transformation were the people who worked underwater. They were the divers who helped lay the foundations for bridges, rescued people from flooded mines, and provided the means to dig the tunnels for the cities that would rival the capitals of Europe. Importantly, with ships being Australia's only means of reaching the world from its remote location, they were the divers who salvaged and repaired the vessels that provided a vital lifeline. These people, Australia's first commercial divers, were quick to adopt the newly-invented Standard Diving Dress. Equally, they were quick to invent their own diving apparatus and experiment with ways to overcome the 'bends', which in the 19th century was still a mystery threatening the life of anyone who went below the surface of the ocean. In Pioneer Divers of Australia, historian Des Williams brings together the stories of the forgotten workers who toiled, often with inadequate or makeshift equipment, in deep, dark, and dangerous waters.