Stainless steel chain mail diving suit worn by Ron Taylor

Stainless steel chain mail diving suit worn by Ron Taylor

Subject or historical figure Valerie Taylor (born 1935)

Subject or historical figure Ron Taylor (1934 - 2012)

Date1979-1982

Object number00049428

NameDiving suit

MediumStainless steel, fabric, plastic

DimensionsOverall (approx laid flat): 2010 x 1000 x 20 mm

ClassificationsTools and equipment

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Ron and Valerie Taylor

Collections

Terms

DescriptionStainless steel chainmail (mesh) diving suit worn by Valerie Taylor during shark documentary work filmed by Ron Taylor in the 1980s.HistoryIn 1962 Ron Taylor received his first award for underwater photography, for a news film called Playing With Sharks. In 1963 Ron and Valerie made their first underwater film Shark Hunter which was sold to enthusiastic television networks in Australia and the USA. The Taylors quickly gained a reputation for cutting-edge underwater photography and more awards followed, including top honours at the International Underwater Film Festival at Santa Monica, California, and an Underwater Society of America award, the NOGI statuette for Education and Sports, in 1966. Giving up competitive spearfishing in 1969, the Taylors devoted themselves full-time to shark research and underwater photography. They filmed many of the scenes in the American feature film Blue Water, White Death, playing two of the four main characters in the film. Shortly afterwards the Taylors spent nine months filming and directing a 39-episode television series called Barrier Reef which they quickly followed up with another television series called Taylors' Inner Space, featuring their encounters with the marine life of the east coast of Australia and the Western Pacific. In the late 1960s Ron Taylor devised the idea of using a full length chainmail suit over a wet suit as a form of protection against shark bites. In 1979 with a shark documentary in mind, Taylor paid US$2,000 to have this suit custom made in the USA. When the suit arrived in Australia, it was too small for Ron and his wife Valerie decided to wear it. After tests on land, Valerie stuffed tuna fillets into the suit to attract sharks and dived into the water. The experiment was a success - the couple learnt how sharks attack, feed and bite, and Ron captured extraordinary footage used in a television feature 'Operation Shark Bite.' After the Taylor's suit experiment, American marine biologist, diver and photographer Jeremiah Sullivan improved the suit design. Today his Neptunic C suits are manufactured using steel mesh, titanium and hybrid laminates at a retail price of $US20,000. SignificanceThis chainmail diving suit reflects the remarkable careers of Ron and Valerie Taylor, who were household names in Australia in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s for their dramatic and beautiful underwater photography and film. Their work featured in movies such as Shark Hunters, Jaws, Orca, Blue Water White Death, Age of Consent and Blue Lagoon, along with their television shows Taylor's Inner Space, Barrier Reef and In the Realm of the Shark.

After terrifying thousands of divers and swimmers with their unbelievable camera work on sharks, the Taylors went on to become leading figures in shark research and marine conservation. They drew world attention to the plight of the marine environment, particularly the Coral Sea and Ningaloo Reefs, and they were instrumental in having the Grey Nurse shark, Great White shark and Potato Cod protected in Australian waters.