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THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIVING EQUIPMENT
The pearling industry has seen vast advancements in regards to diving apparatus, which has enabled divers to operate much more efficiently under water. Through research and technological advancements, the industry has greatly benefited on the whole, with oyster collection and survival rates increasing.
SKIN DIVERS
The Broome pearling industry originated with naked divers, most of whom were
Aborigines, Malays, and Europeans, who had to hold their breath and dive for
oyster shells. This skin diving method existed between the 1860's to the 1880's.
However, as time progressed, the copper helmet was introduced which in turn
resulted in the disappearance of the superb Aboriginal divers, who were far
more superior than any other race. The aborigines could not handle the
complexities of the helmet suit and they also felt very claustrophobic. Their role
in the industry was therefore reduced to a minimal. In 1884, only two vessels,
'Lily' and Emma' were operating with the helmet diving suits, however by 1887,
all but two of thirty vessels were using helmet divers.
THE COPPER HELMET DIVING SUIT
| The helmet suit which resulted in the disappearance of the Aboriginal divers, was invented by John Deane of Whitstable, England in 1820. It was an accidental discovery in such that he founded it while assisting friends put out a fire on their farm. He could not get through the heat and smoke to save the horses in their stables so he borrowed a helmet from a suit of armour in the farm hall, inserted a hose into it, and connected it to the water hand pump. The farmer operated the pump, sending air through the hose, which enabled him to safely enter the house and rescue the horses. John Deane initially took out a patent in 1828 on a "smoke apparatus" for fire fighting and rescue work. He decided that the same principal could be effective for underwater work and exploration, so he built an appropriate suit, equipped with an air hose, canvas suit, and a helmet, and walked into the water. However, the suit inflated and he turned upside down, of which he discovered was due to the absence of lead soled boots, of which would suitably act as weights. |
| John Deane and his brother, became famous
underwater engineers, and later organized the
production of diving suits for commercial sale,
thus beginning the wide scale use of diving suits
in the pearling industry. In the 90 years of their use, they changed very little, the main innovation being the introduction of engine driven compressors in 1912 which replaced the hand driven air pumps. |
|
| It was a major job in getting the
canvas suits on, because the diver
firstly had to encase himself in several
layers of woollen underwear (to guard
himself against the cold), followed by
the awkward job of putting on the
watertight canvas suit called the 'dress'.
His hands were soaped to enable him to
pull the rubber cuffs over them, the
heavy boots were pulled on over the
suit, and lastly, the copper helmet was
put on. This was screwed onto the
shoulder piece and a glass face piece
was then attached. With the lead boots
and heavy chest weights, the suits
weighed about 200kg. |
Click here for an animated gif of a diver preparing to dive, as well as being
brought to the surface. The gif is large, however well worth the wait for this rare
footage.
Air was pumped down into the helmet through a heavy rubber hose. This air
was able to escape from the helmet by a control valve which was regularly
adjusted by the diver. Too much air would 'balloon' the dress, which saw the
diver shooting to the surface and too little air would cause the diver to
experience pressure from the weight of the water. The proper adjustment of the
valve was critical in the use of the suit and when used by a skilled diver, he was
weightless underwater.
The diver was also connected to a manila rope lifeline, which was his
communication with the tender above, as well as the air pump. The diver had a
series of coded tugs worked out with his tender enabling the tender to know
what was happening with the diver below. For e.g.: the diver may have needed
more line, more air, new shell bags, or he may be in danger.
| The series of coded tugs on the breast rope and air pipe
are as follows: From the diver to the tender:
From the tender to the diver:
|
The first divers using the suits were European, but it was found that the
Manilamen and the Japanese were better, especially the Japanese, in deep water
work. They therefore dominated the diving aspect of the pearling industry. Even
when the modern diving suits were invented during the second world war, the
divers continued using the copper helmets for a further 20 years. Two of the
most famous post war helmet divers were Shoji Takata and Noritsugu Ejiri.
Takata was the last helmet diver to work out of Broome in 1975 and suffered
from the dreaded 'bends' approximately 40 times during his diving career. Ejiri
never had the 'bends' and was held in awe by the other divers who were afraid
to dive with him.
THE AQUALUNG
| The aqualung was invented in 1943 by Jacques Cousteau (commander in the French navy) and Emile Gagnan (control valve engineer). The diver is encased in a rubber wet suit. The aqualung supplies air automatically to the lungs, from an oxygen cylinder on the divers back. The pressure is measured at different depths by the diving apparatus on the oxygen cylinder and the pressure is regulated through the use of a regulating valve. The whole apparatus is simple, compact, and virtually weightless in water. Although modified since 1943, the aqualung is basically operated the same today. These are what the divers now use in pearl farming which have greatly assisted in efficient oyster collection. |
In 1971, young Australian divers wearing the aqualung decided to break into the
Broome pearling game. At first, they were unsuccessful, much to the delight of
the experienced Japanese divers who were still wearing the copper helmets.
However, once the new divers acclimatized and familiarised themselves with the
tides and currents along the North West coast and worked out how to work the
luggers effectively when helping the diver, they began to succeed in the industry.
In 1972, the two Australian luggers collected 10,000 shells in four days,
compared to the low amount of only 5000 collected by the Japanese luggers. By
1980, all the Japanese were using modern identical equipment to the Australians,
so as to sustain competition.
By 1981, modern technology had provided the luggers with radar, depth
sounders, radio, and improved crew conditions, but the luggers themselves
were still ancient ships and mainly composed of wood. By 1994, however,
advanced pearling luggers were built of steel, fibreglass and aluminium.
