FathomOz

1. 

   Fathom

   was a marine diving magazine published by Gareth Powell & Associates in Australia. It is considered to have played an important role in raising international awareness of the status of Australian marine life, especially sharks with underwater photography, and established new standards in terms of quality, content, design and accurate marine journalism at a time when most was being sensationalized in the popular press.

2. It was said to be better designed and printed than the leading USA publication, Skin Diver.

3. “Fathom magazine was a perfect fit for its time. The 48-page publication first appeared in Sydney December 1970, produced by Gareth Powell, an eccentric, entrepreneurial British publisher who knew, above anything else, how to employ talented people and give them the freedom to work. Fathom quickly came to reflect the new scuba diving and marine environmental awareness inspired by the Save the Barrier Reef campaign, and the crown-of-thorns starfish plagues threatening coral reefs world wide”.

4. Gareth Powell has been quoted as saying the title Fathom was one of three suggested by editor, John Harding who had canvassed the idea of publishing a dive magazine to him on three occasions. The design was similar to Surf International which was soon to cease production.
5. A major influence on the style of the magazine was the designer, Roy Bisson. In Fathom the freelance contributing photographers and marine journalists were among the best that Australia had produced and included Ron and Valerie Taylor, Walter Starck, and John Harding. The art director (an accomplished diver) had full responsibility to choose the photographs used and to decide how they should be displayed. No other magazine company in Australia, at that time, allowed this level of involvement by their creative staff. The only person who was kept well away from the creative process was the publisher, Gareth Powell. He knew printing – and Fathom was to set new standards for the international diving world, attracting attention from many experts in this field, including the aloof Philippe Cousteau who granted an exclusive and rare interview during his Australian visit. The editorial content of the magazine was under the control of John Harding (a photojournalist and underwater film cameraman) and Roy Bisson.
6. It was the responsibility of Harding & Bisson to devise stories, write, photograph and sell advertising and assemble all pictures rather than rely on haphazard contributions. Dive shops were initially reluctant to advertise until after issue number six.
7. 1971 was the beginning of P.A.D.I scuba schools franchise being available to Australian dive shops.
8. In early 1973 the magazine ceased production with issue ten and before completion of a proposed “Annual”. Various reasons contributed to the closure despite a rapidly rising circulation in Australia and USA. A plan to publish Fathom Yearbook much later was actively supported by all former advertisers.
9. The magazine was printed in Hong Kong and later Singapore to obtain better quality than anything available in Australia.
10. FathomOz.com will feature pages from all issues with hindsight captions and updates. Copyright applies. (Also view an alternative newer blog.  http://fathomoz.wordpress.com).
    

The John Harding Australian Marine Picture Library

“OUR FUTURE – AN UNKNOWN ADVENTURE”

Marine Photography: 1960 – 2010

fathom (Reg. TM, Australia)

Copyright 2005-2010 We reserve copyright for pictures, captions, text content of this web site. We own all such copyright, (or use it with permission of the credited owner). View this web site and its content using your web browser and make a temporary copy of parts of this web site for your personal use only. You may link to other sites with permission. NO commercial use without a written license and fee.

RE-USE OF CONTENT IN ANY FORM
(1) Text, captions, photos is copyright and owned by John H. Harding and may not be reprinted, republished, or otherwise redistributed without a written copyright license.
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(Above left) Diver Clay Wilcox from New York helps in the galley. (Above right) Diver Marc Blessington from southern England and Michel Deloire

Alcyone was the revolutionary sailboat being tested by Cousteau’s team.  The ship arrived in Australia via the port of Cairns, North Queensland.

We knew she was on her way.  Charter boat Coralita had met them at Osprey Reef and exchanged stories and especially some fresh fish as the French crew were low on food supplies.

They met skipper Alby Ziebell and told of having just filmed a  pair of killer whals catching? and eating a hammerhead shark underwater, plus a manta ray – both on 35mm motion picture film.

A few weeks later Christine Danaher and I were invited aboard while the boat was docked in Cairns.  We learned the boat carries 5000 gallons of fuel, 800 liters of fresh water – sufficient for one month at sea.

Contrasting Calypso expeditions of the past, where the entire crew was French-speaking nationals, the Alcyone crew had a pair of young English-speaking divers as part of the 12-man team aboard which consisted of:  captain, two mechanics,cook,two divers, a chief diver,underwater cameraman, above water cameraman, camera assistant, soundman.

Everyone had dual-jobs.

We also met the cinematographer Michel Deloire, probably responsible for most of the filming we’d seen in The Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau. Deloire has worked as a cameraman on feature films in France with actors Brigitte Bardot and that other French icon, Catherine Deneuve.

Deloire got in the  the water with a 3-meter saltwater crocodile in the Jardine River.  The first person I knew of in Australia to do such a thing. “It was very friendly” said Deloire.

(Underwater filming equipment, there were ‘special camera’s’ with lens such as a 5.7mm to 37.5mm zoom,  9.8mm Kinoptic, 18mm Cook).

When asked of  his most special dive anywhere in the world, Deloire considered it was probably the Fontaine Vaucluse, an underwater cave that was a very emotional place.

Christine and I were treated to a video (of our choice) downstairs. We chose the one featuring Jack McKenney as a guest underwater cameraman working with Alcyone on the freezing southern tip of South America.

The guys gave us a good guided tour.  Nothing was out-of-bounds.  It was a friendly and behind-the-scenes look at how the then current series was being put together.   This was still the age of film – video  was yet to catch up to the quality of celluloid.

Meanwhile Jacques Cousteau had invited Sir Peter Blake (the New Zealand yachting champion of The America’s Cup fame) to head the Cousteau Society only to have Sir Peter murdered in the Amazon by would-be pirates as he wrestled to take a rifle from one of them.  The gun discharged during the struggle.  The bandit was captured and jailed.

Then Jacques Cousteau himself passed away.  Somewhere in between the famed Calypso sank at her harbor mooring.

It was a tragic chain of events.

The Calypso has been restored but the modern American Cousteau ‘family’ is divided with extensive legal proceedings – usually over who can use the Cousteau name and in what context.

An interview in a French magazine (Paris Match) before his death showed Jacques looking very happy with his second wife Francine, and his two children to her, both young adults today.  Jacques answered very hard and personal questions.

The Cousteau name continues nicely in cyberspace.    http://cousteau.org This is the European organization headed by Francine Cousteau.

Google:  “clay wilcox” diver brings up Jack McKenney and his book featuring time spent aboard Alcyone and several hours at an airport with Captain Cousteau himself.  The pressures of fame etc.

Google: “marc blessington” diver alcyone and the only entry is a Spanish  blog features Cousteau diver memorabilia.   The plastic dive helmets, a mask worn by Albert Falco etc.  Very interesting for collectors.

Google: “michel deloire cameraman” has an extensive listing.  (My apology for the incorrect name spelling on the picture caption above).

This was from an earlier edition, Fathom No. 4 – Philippe Cousteau was not impressed with an obvious error relating to a baby whale being harpooned and we guaranteed to have points like this double checked in future!

The information came from a reliable source – but it was wrong!

Our interview with Philippe while he was in Australia in 1971 for a few days was something of a coupe as he’d been refusing offers from SKIN DIVER magazine.  Philippe claimed that magazine had a good cash flow but paid peanuts to writers and favored a select group of friends rather than allow new talent much of a chance.  The magazine had a  strong run for years then ceased production during the early 2000′s.

Philippe was killed when his PBY Catalina seaplane crashed in Portugal in 1976 due to a faulty nose wheel hatch being open.  One of the large engines broke off the wing and crushed the cockpit.