More About Us
T
he Underwater Explorer's Club of South Australia lays claim to being one of the oldest established scuba diving club in Australia and we are proud of our history. We formed in 1954 and were incorporated in 1965. To celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we published "Let's go diving", containing stories and historical accounts of the development of scuba diving in South Australia.
Our Patron, Dave Burchell,
was 16 years of age when he lost a leg in an accident while on a train. Determined to join the Navy in World War11, he was rejected due to his lost leg and was finally accepted by the Air Force. After the war he took up the sport of high diving and for 15 years performed with the South Australian Diving Troupe.
In 1951 he started skin diving and in 1960 founded the Adelaide Skin Diving Centre and was one of the pioneers of scuba diving in Australia, training hundreds of sport and commercial divers.
Dave has dived a wide variety of locations. One of his' most memorable dives was during the search for HMAS Perth which was lost during WW2. The Perth bell now lies in the Australian War Museum in Canberra. Dave has been awarded the British Empire Medal and he was the first South Australian to be featured in the National TV program "This is Your Life". He has also authored two books.
Some of our activities
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UEC members enjoy
regular day and weekend trips with a variety of boat and shore dives.
The ex-HMAS Hobart is one dive we try to do.
She
was a Charles F Adams class guided missile destroyer.
The vessel was launched on 9 January 1964 and
commissioned at Boston on 18 December 1965. It measured 437 feet (133.2m) in
length, 47 feet (14.3m) breadth and displaced 4 720
tonnes. The crew complement was 20 officers and 312 sailors.
On Tuesday 5th November 2002 the Hobart was scuttled in Yankalilla Bay. |
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A
newsletter is produced monthly and our dive calendar is planned up to 12 months in advance.| A variety of social activities, including picnics are offered for divers and their families. |
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UEC has been involved with KESAB clean-up
campaigns for several years.
For many years we cleaned up at Rapid Bay; home of the Leafy Seadragon, the state fish emblem. At times we have collected over 50 kg of rubbish from that underwater area. More recently we have cleaned up at the Screwpile Jetty, Victor Harbor. As a result of our work we, with others, have been able to influence local district councils about environmental issues in sensitive marine environments. |
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| UEC members have worked with the Dept of Environment and Heritage in the discovery and mapping of ship wrecks. |
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| UEC has also participated in Reef-Watch activities in SA, idenifying local fauna and flora and looking at the impact of changes in the marine environment. |
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| What We Offer |