PIONEER DIVER
divErNEt.com 63 divEr
underwater colour photographs of the
Great Barrier Reef, using his Robot 35mm
camera in a newly designed home-made
underwater housing.
This housing featured a “reverse
viewfinder”, which Ivor had designed to
allow for the air-space within the mask.
There was a sunshade for the exposure-
meter window, a tyre valve fitted to allow
pressurisation and push-pull controls for
focus, aperture and exposure time.
Ivor also had the foresight to include a
gauze-covered container for soda lime to
prevent condensation build-up.
In late 1954, a family emergency saw
Ivor return to Scotland. After that he
travelled to New
Zealand, where he
settled in 1956 with
his wife Mary. His and
the other Amphibians’
pioneering exploits
remained dormant
until 1999, when Dive
New Zealand
published his
Memories of an Aberdeen Amphibian.
This was later followed by publication
in 2007 of a book, Fathomeering – An
Amphibian’s Tale. This, in Ivor’s words, is
“in the main a personal record of the
adventures shared and the equipment usedby a few amateur divers in Scotland and
Australia after the end of WW2 and prior
to the explosion of interest in recreational
diving in the mid-1950s”.All of this occurred long before I came to
know Ivor, but after learning about him
(by chatting to someone at DIVE 2014,
the NEC Dive Show) I got in touch.
I devoured the Amphibians Club tales
of discovery and adventure, and soon
realised that, having moved to Aberdeen
myself in 2005, I had shared many of the
same diving and hiking
locations, albeit
a good few years apart!
As parallels between our
interests became clear, and
having become aware of the
incredible achievements of
Ivor and his friends, earlier
this year I asked for his
permission to reinstate the
Amphibian’s Club.
My mission is to
continue our outdoor
adventures and to honour the original
members’ legacy. If you would like to
find out more about the Amphibians
Club or get in touch, please visit
amphibiansclub.co.uk or catch us on
twitter @AmphibiansClubAbove, from left: Front and
back views of the home-
made underwater housing
for the Robot 35mm camera
used to take the first colour
photographs of the Great
Barrier Reef.Right:Ivor Howitt about to
dive Tobermory Bay off the
island of Mull.1 2 days from £2 1 69.00 Including: 1 week diving Zanzibar,
3 day safari, flights from UK airportshttp://www.orientafricatravel.com/
adventure
T: 01291 570 953 E: [email protected]Dive Zanzibar
With a Safari included!Holidays protected by IPP London / ATOL