The Pearl Shell Divers of Torres Strait - Australia's Deadliest Catch. Full Program.

Now almost faded from the collective consciousness Pearl shelling was a very romantic, though deadly, facet of Australia's nautical history.

[@bigears4014]

People can say what they like about The commentary on these older shows , but it's clear and precise and easy to understand

[@supertramp6011]

Agreed. No pathetic drama/ fake suspense, just clear narration and great cinematography. I miss those days…..

[@George.Andrews.]

all analog recording I suspect

[@dawnatkinson3032]

Agree!!👍👍

[@anthonyevans9169]

They learned about the bends,decompression, mix gas dive threw trail and error,many died,hooked on laudem from the horrible pain they had.now it state of art

[@spaceman5734]

i love them

[@chrisferguson237]

The older I get the more and more I lament the passing of our older generations. People with amazing experiences and knowledge. Growing up there were so many of our returned service men and women and people who had emigrated from Europe after the war that helped build Australia, I wish they were still here to impart their wisdom and grace. Thanks for this fantastic piece of history.

[@mickwhelan28]

This is such an excellent documentary and social history as well . I am also now a commited Seaman Dan fan . All his albums are on u tube ,he does some lovely stuff . WHEN BOATS WERE WOODEN AND MEN WERE MADE OF IRON .

[@flyingfalafel7748]

Im watching this on Thursday Island 17/10/2022 Thank you

[@johnshields6852]

It's great to see stories of people who lived and fished the seas, interesting to hear about their lives and the business of pearls, great story telling. Thank you.

[@MrG77]

I will never complain about my work in a nice warm workshop ever again. My hats off to those guys.🙏👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@andrewmiller6663]

look up last of the cape horners, that was really hard to sail the roaring 40's

[@willymueller3278]

The graceful sailing luggers, men, they are so beautiful ! Do they still build them around those islands ? Such a marvelous maritime history should not just vanish ! Those lines beat any modern sailing yacht. Splendid.

[@supertramp6011]

Men used to build incredibly functional,yet beautiful vessels. The two go hand in hand. Now, it is all ugly, function over form, and nasty polluting materials fuelled by diesel. For everything we gain, we lose a little more. I spent my first ten years of my fishing career diving for scallop in Scotland, great memories, and the shared cameraderie of a dangerous and tough job. I’m glad I made it out with my life and my health, unlike many others of my compadres. Still fishing, but now I’m potting for langoustine!🤣⚓️

[@bengardiner1075]

Love watching these documentaries/ short films, when men could be men and go find a living. Brilliant 👌 thanks for posting that

[@basaltplainscreationsaustr1194]

I worked on the TB eradication in the NT in the early 90s, some of my best best memories are sitting and listening to the people that worked the shells in the old days. Great orators, sadly all gone now.

[@uralbob1]

Great stories, great people! Thank you all for sharing your wonderful lives and culture!

[@aureliobrighton1871]

I am sitting here in Bavaria close to the Alps (dry and safe) ... and I feel overwhelmed by the spirit and experience of these men .. so close lie the pastelcolored beauty and gentle breeze to windcrested waves and dark depths full of hostile existence . coming up to daylight must have been like being newly borne over and over again 🌸☮️

[@wallaceburjins6841]

Thank you very much algorithm. Great program

[@unitedstatesdale]

This is the best posted content Ive ever seen on youtube. Thanks. These guys are BadddAsssses

[@kafoapenjueli.penjueli8916]

Just came across your video this morning,i remembered stories growing up in the islands about ancestors who went there and never came back home. I’m from the island called Rotuma north of the Fijian group of islands.how they found their way there I don’t know. I have a cousin who went to Australia few years ago who met a Thursday island girl and now lives in her island send some pictures of tombstones with names and words in our language to his surprise,they dated back to the late 18 hundreds.love this video especially the words of those survivors,we were men then,so true.unfortunately they don’t make them that way anymore.God bless them all.cheers.

[@Daviecrockett64]

Thank you for that Gary, it is a great film, I knew Dick Sonners when I was a boy, He was was a really nice bloke. Rest in peace Dick Sonners

[@supertramp6011]

Sounds like a real man’s man! You were privileged to know him. ⚓️

[@supertramp6011]

I love this film. Heroic tales of real mens men. Working under the sea is a very addictive and seductive way of life,I miss it dearly!

[@chrisferguson237]

Hello Dave. I tried to find Dick on Wilipedia with no luck. Do you know where I could read more about him please. Cheers.

[@Daviecrockett64]

@@chrisferguson237 Hi Chris, I'm sorry but I'm unaware of anything written about Dick. I learn't a lot more about him from Gary's film than I knew previously

[@joesprague1464]

Best program on KZbin.Enjoyed every minute of it.

[@maxsweetman6341]

So interesting thanks I am now 82 In my early 20s I worked for c edge and sons Townsville they made and sold equipment and sails for lighters I was lucky enough to work on the first trawler into Cooktown on board we had 2 horn islanders father and son Boulton named John Waite Old John had been a pearl and trophy’s diver and I loved the stories he told He said his worst experience was when he had to stay down all night because of the bends He also said he lost a lot of friends through what he calle repute of the deep he thought it was caused by having too much to drink before diving John was quite old but thought nothing of free diving down to retrieve a stuck anchor I always considered John to be one of the bravest men I’ve known He also had exceptional seamanship and navigational skills he could put us on a reef on a pitch black night I had no idea how he did that

[@elizaandalisa]

Great men Marty Yeppoon Qld

[@kcox3090]

In 1963, I was a crew member of the Lighthouse tender, SS Cape Leeuwinn when we got to TI, everyone came down to welcome us and this is when I obtained a gold lipped pearl shell with the view of TI from the water engraved on the inner surface among the cultured pearl 'blisters'.

[@gruntmax43]

I used to work out of Mackay in Queensland. Eaton & Denton Reefs. 986 kg Trochus was my best day. Good to know I'm famous.

[@peterforrest6682]

Fascinating video...beautifully narrated. Wooden boats and iron men...that was for sure.

[@douglasljdunn]

Love the Seaman Dan songs. RIP

[@peterbamforth6453]

Ben Cropp the Australian diver,film maker and treasure/wreck hunter made a film about the pearl divers.There was quite a colony of them in north australia but a hurricane wiped all the boats out and killed many.Nearby there are cave paintings depicting the scene.Miles inland they found a divers helmet in a swamp.He also mentions the "blackbirders" Who would con or kidnap men from the islands to basicly be virtualy unpaid divers.

[@kimparish1982]

What an incredible story. I hadn’t ever heard about this before. Thank you.

[@colinboniface194]

Outstanding doco. Interesting how some Japanese divers were there after the war... Truly multi cultural... was on Thursday island in 84...Great place...

[@citizenoz4162]

This should be shown in every school in Australia !

[@nigelmorgan3449]

Fantastic story thank you very much for sharing I very much enjoyed it be safe and I hope your all traveling well

[@kge420]

Our grandpop had a button business using the Pearl shells. His business ended due to the start of WWII.

[@michaelbotts5496]

Excellent special very much enjoyable. Tough ass guys

[@roadboat9216]

Very interesting history. As an avid diver myself, this seemed very dangerous. And im sure that it was. And what a great community!

[@supertramp6011]

I worked for about ten years as a scallop diver in NW Scotland. I can relate to these men, and enjoyed this greatly. This was filmed before the US Navy had even developed decompression dive tables, the injuries must have been terrifying. Tough guys, incredibly brave to dive to these depths on air, especially with such crude equipment. ⚓️

[@roadboat9216]

@@supertramp6011 You are so right there. I am a dive instructor and ran a dive charter business in the Caribbean. It was all recreational diving. Usually not over the traditional 130’. What were your depths with scallop diving. I have dove for scallops in the Sea of Cortez Mexico, just for personal use. That had to be VERY tough conditions for diving and yes, crude equipment. It’s amazing what you can do when you have to. I have lived in a number of “third world” countries and the ingenuity is amazing. And wonderful people.

[@supertramp6011]

@@roadboat9216 absolutely, I tip my hat to the ingenuity of less wealthy countries. When times get hard worldwide, many of those folks will have a huge advantage over soft Westerners! Typical depths when we were scallop diving could be anywhere from 3- 40 metres( approximately 120 feet, deepest I ever went on air was around 80 metres, but that was pretty sketchy! Typical dives were about the 20-30 metre range, 4 dips per day in summer, 3 in the winter, usually with a 15 litre tank at around 220 bar. Nowadays, most of the scallop guys use Nitrox mix, I had to quit in the end because I developed a severe allergy to neoprene, latex and rubber, around the wrist and neck seals, as we had to use dry suits due to the cold. I loved it as a job, although it was tough work, and sometimes dangerous, but it paid reasonably well, although I’m glad I’m not doing it now approaching my fifties! Good to hear from you mate, take care! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⚓️

[@lambertodgr8]

Sailing and diving were my life i can relate to all of those mens stories . Never dived for pearl shell though .still had a few close shaves .made it to 80 though .

[@mickzammit6794]

Good to see these old fellows again. Henry Dan,Omsky and the others. We used to drink and gamble and laugh at the Torres Hotel years ago. They all had lots of stories to tell.

[@darkdrengr5944]

Just stumbled across your channel. Thanks for sharing this documentary. It was extremely interesting.

[@ErgonBill]

Brings back fond memories of the warm and friendly TI people I met while working there during the late '90s.

[@torrespearls381]

Most enjoyable Garry. Cheers.

[@gringoquenocomecuy]

A great reflection of life. Thanks.

[@andyharpist2938]

I was told that the regular divers would work far outside the decompression tables. SO much so that it was believed that they developed tolerance to the depth.

[@crelark]

Excellent! Great respect for these people. 👍🏻

[@davesherry5384]

"there's no short cuts" is as true as it gets. 25 fathoms is 150 feet or 50 metres (+/-) and a 30 minute dive at that depth demands something like 40 minutes or more decompression stage so well over an hour runtime for just 20 minutes on the bottom. I used to dive on tables only back in the 70s as most of us did, thank goodness for decent dive computers today! The guy was right about the injuries being targets for DCS. I got a mate who has bene bent 4 times *he doesn;t learn and it manfests where a seat sliced off a bit of his upper right arm in a car accident. I've been very close most of his epeidoes of DCS and I find medically fascinating. I am not that keen to try it myself mind you.

[@seanyuke3249]

Such a beautiful place and beautiful people. And alot of those luggers are the most beautiful I've ever seen. Hard and often sad life though.

[@paulvanniekerk2015]

Thank you guys very interesting. You men were very brave

[@no.7593]

Another great documentary!

[@conantdog]

Excellent history 👍

[@P61guy61]

Thank you for posting

[@edfederoff2679]

ed federoff 1 second ago The narrator, Rod Mullinar, reminded me of the actor who played the old Aussie cobber in King Rat. I don't know his name. Same voice, though.

[@lynnnickstricks]

My ancestor Captain William Banner was responsible for the Australian pearling industry. He was from Sydney. His fob watch is in the Sydney Marattime Museum date 1871. Pity his name was left out at the beginning of the documentary. He befriended Chief Kabushu and married his Daughter. He later died and was buried on Warrior Island. Even though he had a Wife and children in Sydney. There is more to his story but it won’t be told here.

[@ramseybarber8312]

Hi What a lovely film ,I have done Hard hat diving and can relate to what they are talking about but NO WAY would I dive the way these MEN used to do it ,Thank You.

[@supertramp6011]

Crazy isn’t it? I spent about ten years diving four dips a day commercially for scallops here in NW Scotland. Deepest I ever got to was 77 metres on air, scuba. These guys were heroic, but the risks were incredible!

[@leighmellon1709]

these guys were real men. massive balls

[@JohnDoe-jn3es]

Interesting story of those that risked life for pearls

[@gregsanford3848]

I thoroughly enjoyed this articlek, history wooden boats and iron men

[@tuttlespeachtree3413]

So similar to Hawaii culture and the music is dead on Hawaiian music from the 60s and 70s.

[@BILLYGGRUFF-bx9lx]

Watching this from Warrior Island on 31/8/24 at 2100. Heavy rain with thunder and finished making my speargun today and had mud crab and octopus and rice and cabage for dinner.

[@waughthogwaugh3078]

What an incredible slice of history!

[@outdoors5352]

Tough men. 50 fathoms is nuts with that old gear and lack of decomp stops and knowledge.

[@S.Norman]

Thanks

[@mosehboy8416]

Legends 🙏🏾🕊️🔥🔥

[@lordcaff]

Is Tuffers giving the V/O?

[@gregsanford3848]

Very interesting

[@sawyerdave1]

I can’t imagine the horror of realising that in order to relieve the extreme pain you’re gonna have to be a worm on a hook for any predator down there 😂

[@seanyuke3249]

15 to 20 is a good day in the straits.

[@thespartan8476]

I was waiting for him to say diving and boat's were invented in England.

[@ericsebasio681]

Torres Straits Economy....👍 to our pearlers...

[@moleisrich1]

Hell yea. Hidden jewel!

[@gregsanford3848]

Very brave men❤❤❤

[@patcowley6378]

That warning was a bit cringe...i think they can take it...and what about me? why didnt i get a warning...i have feelings too...

[@user-wc3lg9ou7i]

Kara Ged 🌴🌺♥️👣

[@Kimjongil.]

Warning :may contain dead people 💀😆😆😆

[@SchwaechertskgsparSeconde]

Peal Divings to Be Delighted I have Done its Best in Zears Before Todazs Hzpes on Vieos But at the French Juristictions On the Descargas Italianas du Mondial Clube sdes Plongeursa Nationals sans Les ations in the Small Red Seas Port In Sianais Regions . The Given Fish and Lives for Erver in Remeberences. Que oui Maight be Trouthfull that some Mens goes lost the Dangerousness will be undenaiebel s.

[@brianshook3289]

great stuff! thank you