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HDS SEAP to Display at OZTeK '11 Conference March 2011.
The HDS SEAP will once again have a display stand at the fabulous OZTeK ‘11 Conference. Our presence at the OZTeK '09 event was enthusiastically received by delegates and we look forward to seeing many familiar and new faces again in March 2011.  Be sure to drop by our stand and learn more about the HDS SEAP and the wonderful world of our Australian diving heritage. OZTeK '11 Conference will be held at Australian Technology Park, Sydney, Australia on 12th - 13 March 2011. Please visit the OZTeK ‘11 website www.diveoztek.com.au for more information and see the impressive list of speakers who will entertain you at this premier event. 
 
MELBOURNE AQUARIUM DIVE - AUGUST 2010
Steve Tayor advises that the society has been invited to return to the Melbourne Aquaium after a very successful three days over August 20-22, 2010. It was so successful that it may extend for five days. Dates have not been confirmed but it will be in the summer school holidays and cover a weekend.  The inaugural event in August was attended by divers  John McCormick, John Stevens, Steve Taylor, Des Williams, Gisela Hamacher, Stanly Haviland, Allan Kessler, Frank Zeigler and the four staff divers at the Aquarium. Helmets used were Steve Taylor’s TOA and Des William’s DESCO.

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Left: Event organizer John McCormick dressing Steve Taylor in his TOA; John Stevens is prepared to enter the water in his twin hose Sportsways, as safety diver. 
Right: Steve Taylor reflects on his dive in the big pool at he aquarium, much to the enjoyment of aquarium visitors and the utter joy for the young ones. 
 

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HDS SEAP ACKNOWLEDGES NAUI COURSE ORGANISERS
At the second and most recent (June 2010) NAUI Standard Dress course, held in Portland, the HDS SEAP officially acknowledged the special contribution made by two vintage diving enthusiasts in their development of this new NAUI specialty course. HDS SEAP Hon. Secretary Des Williams, presented an HDS SEAP ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ to both NAUI course Director Frank Zeigler, of Professional Diving Services and course co-ordinator, Stephen Taylor from HDS SEAP. 
Des explained that both Frank and Steve, as vintage diving enthusiasts themselves, had made a very special and worthwhile contribution to historical diving, by promoting detailed knowledge and the safe use of standard dress equipment through a NAUI Specialty Course. 
In the last two years, some forty enthusiasts have completed this course and  along with it, increased their interest our Australian diving heritage. 
Des advised it was a pleasure for the HDS SEAP to acknowledge the dedication of these two members and thanked them on behalf of the HDS SEAP Committee, who had approved the awards.
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MOVIE NIGHT - 26 November 2007
Venue: Mordialloc Sporting Club, 528 Nepean Highway, Mordialloc, Upstairs in the HOBSON ROOM.
Presentations: 
a) Fake Diving Helmet information in "Powerpoint" format (approx 10 minutes)
b) "Sunken salvage vessel DISPERSER" and recovery of a Siebe Gorman diving helmet lying deep within this lost wreck, since 1934. Divers recovered the hat just a few years ago, off the Lancashire coast in the UK, excellent film. (approx 35 minutes) 
c) "The Diver Who Saved a Cathedral". The story of William Walker, the Siebe Gorman diver who worked for six years underneath Winchester Cathedral, underpinning the foundations of this crumbling 1100 year old British icon. (Powerpoint
presentation approx. 15 minutes)
d) Discovery of a rare US Army DD amphibious tank off the Italian coast. This movie follows a group of recreational Italian divers, who find many previously undiscovered WW2 relics in the sea off the Salerno coast of Italy. Existence of the DD Tank is at first denied by US officials, until the Italians finally photograph its propellors and send the pics to the USA archive, at the
Pentagon. Within a very short time, the USN "cavalry" arrives to recover the rare WW2 relic in typical USN style, utilising millions of dollars worth of salvage gear!!! (approx 45 minutes) .

 
SEAP at SUNKEN ASSETS CONFERENCE

On Sunday 19th August the Scuba Divers Federation of Victoria presented Sunken Assets 2007, a one day seminar devoted to VictoriaÆs Maritime Heritage. The HDS SEAP was invited to have a stand at the seminar and we did so, displaying a range of photographs and information on the Ted Eldred Porpoise. 

Classic Diver Editor Jeff Maynard was one of the keynote speakers at the event and Jeff presented a talk entitled "Australia's Diving Heritage". This focussed on the history of diving and highlighted Australian inventions and the contribution they made to the overall evolution of diving equipment. 

A number of other HDS SEAP members were also keynote speakers on various shipwreck subjects. Mark Ryan of Victoria spoke of our deep shipwreck pioneers, Andy Viduka from the Museum of North Queensland spoke on the Yongala experience, Frank Ziegler was the facilitator of the open forum discussion, while in the background Des Williams was on the committee that organised the event. Many other members attended the event. 
Overall it was a very successful day and a big æthankyouÆ to everyone who attended and assisted. 

Pic: Mark Ryan of Southern Ocean Exploration tries out Jeff Maynard's Salvus Rebreather in front of the HDS SEAP display.
HDSSEAP at OZTeK March 17-16 2007 

What a great weekend for HDS SEAP. The NSW members have certainly set a VERY high standard for future HDS SEAP displays, congratulations lads and a very special thanks to Dave Thomas for taking on the role of project organiser for us, as he is certainly cool under pressure. Our stand was excellent, with a variety of mostly Australian made diving equipment fromáthe fantastic collections of Dave, Mel Brown, Tony Gregory and Allan Kessler. There was a large focus on PORPOISE equipment, to educate Australians about the fantastic contribution to diving made by Ted Eldred all those years ago. Stanley provided a Chinese helmet and some of the display tables and dressing. There were plenty of members on hand to rotate in shifts, so others could attend some of the lectures, we worked very well as a team and the interest from the public was brilliant. Visitors to the stand varied from one chap who still dives with twin hose scuba, right over to a 10 year old lad who had recently passed his dive ticket in Vanuatu and was captivated with the historical diving gear on display. Special appreciation goes to Andy Andrew and Geoff Reed who did a stint on the stand and we werenÆt even expecting them at OZTeK. 

It is safe to say (immodestly) that we contributed to the quality of the OZTeK event as well, as the diving publicálearned a lot more about the HDS SEAP and our wonderful Australian diving heritage and it is a testiment to the quality of our display and staff, that so many people came to the stand for quality time. Good old SEAHUNT was certainly a drawcard and attracted the baby-boomers like flies to honey. Just the first few notes of the SEAHUNT 'intro tune' had them flocking to the stand. 

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