Valerie Taylor (diver)

Born in Paddington, Sydney on 9 November 1935, Taylor spent her early years in Sydney. Her mother was a housewife and her father an engineer for Exide Batteries. The family moved to New Zealand in 1939 to set up a battery factory there, but were unable to return to Australia when WWII broke out.[6] At 12 years of age Taylor contracted polio during the 1948 polio epidemic. Isolated from her family, friends and schooling she slowly recovered with the support of the ‘Sister Kenny Treatment and Rehabilitation Method’. Taylor fell behind in her studies and left school at 15 years of age to work for the NZ Film Unit drawing for an animation studio. She was already showing her talents as an artist.[6]

Taylor turned to Sydney with her family to settle in the beach side suburb of Port Hacking where she took up spearfishing to provide food for the family. Spearfishing opened her eyes to the underwater world. She became an Australian champion spearfisher and met her future husband, Ron Taylor, at the St George's Spearfishing Club.[7][8]

Although starting their aquatic careers as competitive spearfishers,[8] Valerie and Ron's respect for the underwater world grew. They downed their spears in favour of cameras and began successful careers making marine documentaries. The Taylors' introduced Australia and the world to the wonders of marine life and particularly sharks.[3]

The list of credits and awards for Valerie Taylor is extensive.[9] She and Ron were the first people to film Great White sharks without the protection of a cage. They made countless shark films including Blue Water, White Death where they swam cageless among a school of Oceanic White Tip sharks feeding on a whale carcass.[10] The documentary was a cinema hit and caught the attention of American film director Steven Spielberg. They were called on to shoot the real Great White Shark sequences for Jaws. In addition to the thousands of hours of film and television and their various published works, Taylor's conservation work in Australia and around the world is notable.[11]

In 1967 a Belgian scientific expedition asked the Taylors' to join their endeavour to record life on the Great Barrier Reef. Over several months, Valerie dove the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef from Lady Elliot Island up to the Torres Strait - a feat perhaps unsurpassed even today.[12] Over the decades, Taylor's conservation efforts included campaigning to prevent oil exploration in Ningaloo Marine Park, overturning mining rights on Coral Sea Islands, winning protection for many places on the Great Barrier Reef before it was given World Heritage status, and lobbying for marine sanctuary zones in South Australia.[13][14]

In 1986, Taylor was appointed by his Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, the ‘Rider of the Order of the Golden Ark’ for marine conservation. She was recognised for her successful efforts protecting of the habitat of the potato cod near Lizard Island - the first gazetted protection of the Great Barrier Reef.[15]

At 66 years old she was still actively promoting conservation and diving with sharks and was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society in marine conservation and the Australian Senior Achiever of the Year.[4] In 2008 Taylor received the Australian Geographic Lifetime of Conservation award.[16]

In 2010 Taylor was awarded an AM For service to conservation and the environment as an advocate for the protection and preservation of marine wildlife and habitats, particularly the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef, and as an underwater cinematographer and photographer.[4]

Taylor also excelled as an underwater photographer and her underwater images graced the pages of the National Geographic Magazine including some pioneering macro images of coral and invertebrates on the Great Barrier Reef that made front cover in 1973.[17] This compelling front page image also caught the attention of Lars-Eric Lindblad, and Valerie and Ron spent a decade traveling the world on the little red and white ship called the Lindblad Explorer lecturing to travellers on board.[18]

During the early 1980s Taylor began experiments with sharks wearing a steel mesh suit. Her experiments were ground-breaking, world firsts that contributed to a new understanding of the relative bite power of various shark species. The 1981 front cover of National Geographic magazine featured Taylor, off the coast of California, during one of these experiments with Blue sharks wearing this chainmail suit.[19]

In 1981 Taylor was awarded the NOGI award for Arts, Academy of Underwater Arts & Sciences, presented by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (AUAS) to diving luminaries.[20]

Her photographic talents saw her awarded the 1997 American Nature Photographer of the year award (sponsored by the American Press Club) for a picture of a whale shark swimming with her nephew in Ningaloo Marine Park.[21] By 2000 she was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame.[21]

Taylor's husband Ron passed away from leukemia in 2012,[22] but Taylor has continued her focus on marine conservation and communication. She has illustrated and written a children's book,[23] campaigned against ocean plastic pollution overfishing and published her memoirs .[24]

Taylor has dedicated more than fifty years of her life bringing the wonders of the natural world into our living rooms through her keen observations and storytelling ability. She has lobbied for a better understanding and management of our marine life and their habitats. She has inspired people the world over to immerse themselves in the marine world and its conservation. Without the benefit of a secondary school or tertiary education she has become a role model for generations of scientists.

• 1981 – NOGI award for Arts, Academy of Underwater Arts & Sciences[20]
• 1986 – Order of the Golden Ark presented by his Royal Highness, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands[15]
• 1993 – SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Diver[48]
• 1997: American Nature Photographer of the year award (sponsored by the American Press Club) for a picture of a whale shark swimming with her nephew in Ningaloo Marine Park[13]
• 2000 – membership of the Women Divers Hall of Fame[4]
• 2001 – the Centenary Medal and the Australian Senior Achiever of the year[4]
• 2010 – Member of the Order of Australia (AM)[16]