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YankDownUnder
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Australian Single Hose Diving School

Thu Dec 15, 2016 10:07 pm

The first single hose regulators were made in Australia. The very first was the 1952 Porpoise. The second was the 1954 Sea Bee. These two came from Melbourne. The third was the 1956 Scubmatic, made in Sydney.

By sheer chance this man overheard a woman talking about her early days in scuba. She had attended the diving course conducted by Commander Maurice Batterham in Melbourne. The school was taught at the Melbourne City Baths, a pool complex which still exists in Melbourne today. She dived for 23 years, and dived using a Porpoise scuba. The lady is now 80 years old and she is interviewed about those early days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Nc1aC31ss

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Bryan
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Re: Australian Single Hose Diving School

Fri Dec 16, 2016 9:50 am

Thanks for the great post Steve!
Doing it right should include some common sense, not just blindly following specs and instructions. .Gary D, AWAP on SB

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YankDownUnder
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Re: Australian Single Hose Diving School

Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:32 pm

The first maker of single hose regulators, Breathing Appliances Pty. Ltd., eventually made several models. When I bought a very rare double tank version, the CA2 Porpoise, the seller offered me his photo album. I said I would rather scan it, and let him keep his memories. There was a young woman in one of the class pictures, wearing a leopard skin two piece swim suit. They were called 'swimming costumes' back then. Recently an article appeared in the Australian cave diving magazine and when the article was being prepared for our magazine, Classic Diver, I noticed it was the same woman.

The early single hose course was taught by a WWII British frogman, who was then in the Royal Australian Navy reserve. He was Commander Maurice Batterham. The course was very extensive and the Australian Government kept records of the students, in case of a war time need. This was only 9 years after WWII. Rifle clubs were also supported and their members' names were kept, so as to have a pool of marksmen. She mentions Bob Wallace-Mitchel in the video. He was the distributor of the Porpoise regulators. It was invented by Ted Eldred, because 'double hose' was impossible to get in Australia. Siebe Gorman held the rights to the French invention and could not supply enough of them. The early tanks were carried inverted because air could be managed by decanting between tank. The regulator had a wheel handled reserve on it too. I have posted a number of pictures elsewhere on this site, should you wish to do a search.

HDS Aus-Pac obtained a copy of their training manual. Interestingly, the certificate had semi closed circuit (Nitrox) and oxygen rebreather on it.Any qualification not obtained, was just crossed out. The course also required the students to return for refresher training after a few years, but I never heard of anyone who did so. In 1965 the school closed and US Divers, under the name Australian Divers, began sending their students to our course, taught about a mile away, at the Melbourne YMCA swimming pool. The current Aqua Lung company bought out the Australians back in 1960.

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Fibonacci
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Re: Australian Single Hose Diving School

Sun Dec 18, 2016 10:15 pm

Fascinating insight to early diving in Australia... loved the story of diving in old tights and a jumper before wetsuits were available (and in winter too :shock: ) and raising the cannon near Apollo Bay!

Vivienne Ryan is a true pioneer...

Thanks for posting!
'A man can never have too much red wine, too many books or too much ammunition' Rudyard Kipling

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