Agnes Milowka (23 December 1981 – 27 February 2011) was an Australian

technical diver Technical diving (also referred to as tec diving or tech diving) is scuba diving that exceeds the agency-specified limits of recreational diving for non-professional purposes. Technical diving may expose the diver to hazards beyond those normally ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, maritime archaeologist and cave explorer. She gained international recognition for penetrating deeper than previous explorers into cave systems across Australia and Florida, and as a public speaker and author on the subjects of diving and maritime archaeology. She died aged 29 while diving in a confined space.

Early life and schooling

Born in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, Milowka moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

at an early age with her parents, attending

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

from 1994 to 1999. At the school, she was a house captain, champion school rower and was a finalist in the statewide VCE achiever award. She received her graduate degrees in

Maritime Archaeology Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, s ...

from

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

(2007),

Bachelor of Business A Bachelor of Business (BBus, BBus (Major)) is a three to four year undergraduate degree in the field of business offered by traditional and newer universities from the post-Dawkins era in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. It is similar in format ...

, Marketing and Event Management from Victoria University (2008),

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, History and Australian Studies from

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

(2005), where she was a president of the Melbourne University Underwater Club (2003–2005). In the summer of 2007 she completed an internship in St. Augustine, Florida, with

LAMP Lamp, Lamps or LAMP may refer to: Lighting * Oil lamp, using an oil-based fuel source * Kerosene lamp, using kerosene as a fuel * Electric lamp, or light bulb, a replaceable component that produces light from electricity * Light fixture, or ligh ...

(Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program), the research arm of the

St. Augustine Light The St. Augustine Light Station is a privately maintained aid to navigation and an active, working lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built between 1871 and 1874. The ...

house & Museum, where she participated in the archaeological excavation of historic shipwreck sites. This work would introduce her to Florida diving, where she would go on to explore extensive cave systems. During her schooling, she participated as the researcher and diver in a series of qualitative underwater archeological research projects.

Diving

In the effort coordinated by

Victorian Speleological Association The Victorian Speleological Association Inc. (VSA) was created in 1967 by the merger of the Victorian Cave Exploration Society (1957) and the Sub Aqua Speleological Society (1960). It is a member of the Australian Speleological Federation (ASF) wh ...

in 2009, she and James Arundale explored Elk River streamway cave system by an additional , which has potential to become the longest continuous stream passage in Victoria, Australia. In a 2009 expedition near Cocklebiddy, she reached the midpoint of

Craig Challen Craig Challen, is an Australian technical diver and Cave diving, cave explorer. He was the recipient of the Oztek 2009 Diver of the Year award for his services to caving, and was joint winner of the 2019 Australian of the Year. He grew up in ...

's 2008 line giving her the record for the longest cave dive in Australia for a female. She worked as an underwater grip in 2008 for a film by Discovery Channel Japan, "Water's Journey" by TV Asahi & Karst Productions. She was part of the National Geographic Nova TV Special expedition to

Blue Hole A blue hole is a large marine cavern or sinkhole, which is open to the surface and has developed in a bank or island composed of a carbonate bedrock (limestone or coral reef). Their existence was discovered in the late 20th century by fisherme ...

s of the Bahamas, in December 2008, as an underwater grip, followed by the expedition to look for similar

sinkholes A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

in Queensland, Australia in October 2009. Milowka was a photographic assistant on the ''

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' expedition to Bahamas Caves, November–December 2009, resulting in a few of her photos being published by the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

website. Her underwater photography has been included in multimedia library of the popular website creation software WebEasy Professional (since 2007), distributed by Avanquest Software. In 2010, when living in Florida, she laid over of line across a number of cave systems, the most significant of which was Baptizing (aka Mission) Spring. In August 2010, together with James Toland, she made the connection between Peacock Springs and Baptizing Spring, Florida adding over of passage. She was the presenter and editor for TV series "Agnes Milowka Project" (2010) featuring underwater cave footage shot by

Wes Skiles Wesley C. Skiles (March 6, 1958 – July 21, 2010) was an American cave diving pioneer, explorer, and underwater cinematographer. Skiles lived in High Springs, Florida. Background Skiles was born on March 6, 1958, in Jacksonville, Florida, and ...

Karst Productions Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

. Agnes Milowka was a speaker at a number of diving related conferences ( OZTek 2009, EuroTek 2010). She acted as a

stunt double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

for two female characters on the

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...

-produced feature film '' Sanctum'' (2011) and worked during the production as cave dive instructor to the actors. In 2011 she was nominated as Dive Rite Ambassador. One of her last jobs was as a diving supervisor on ''BIRTH'', a short film for the TRIMÄPEE fashion label. The movie has been dedicated in her name.

Death

In February 2011, she ran out of air and died after parting company to explore a tight restriction, which necessitated going solo, in the Tank Cave near

Tantanoola Tantanoola is a town in regional South Australia. The name is derived from the aboriginal word ''tentunola'', which means ''boxwood / brushwood hill or camp''. ''Tantanoola'' was originally named 'Lucieton' by William Jervois, Governor Jervois a ...

in the south east of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. In recognition of Milowka's achievements and legacy, The Agnes Milowka Memorial Environmental Science Award has been established by Mummu Media for underprivileged schools in the area of science, marine studies or exploration. In May 2011 Agnes Milowka

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

received the Exploration Award, in recognition of the outstanding and dedicated service to the

National Speleological Society The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. Originally headquartered in Washington D.C., its current offices are in H ...

Cave Diving Section, USA. A number of geologic features have been named in memory and her original exploration work in Australia: "Ag's Dreamtime Passage" in the underwater Olwolgin Cave on Nullarbor Plain, "Agnes Chamber" in Davis Cave System, Bats Ridge, Victoria and "Milowka Canal" in Elk River Cave, Victoria. Her name has been featured in memoriam at 2011 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts

AACTA The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) is a professional organisation of film and television practitioners in Australia. The Academy's aim is "to identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements i ...

and in popular sci-fi webcomic book Crimson Dark, the alliance starship has been named A.W.S. Milowka.

Author

Milowka authored articles on the subject of underwater exploration, and her experiences and work as a diver. These include: * ''Let's Talk About... The S Word'' *''Heaven is a place on earth'' CDAA Newsletter ''Guidelines'' No 102 Dec 2007 *''Why Ginnie and I are like peas and carrots''CDAA Newsletter ''Guidelines'' No 105 Sep 2008 *''Virgin Territory: Devil's Eye past the restriction''CDAA Newsletter ''Guidelines'' No 106 Dec 2008 *''Deep holes in the ground that will blow your mind: Bahamas''CDAA Newsletter ''Guidelines'' No 108 June 2009 *''Mission Spring''CDAA Newsletter ''Guidelines'' No 110 Dec 2009 *''Cave diving in Victoria: Exploration of the Elk River streamway'' (co-authored with Jim Arundale)CDAA Newsletter ''Guidelines'' No 111 March 2010 *''In the heart of Tiger's Eye''CDAA Newsletter ''Guidelines'' No 112 June 2010 *''Virgin Territory: Devil's Eye Cave System Beyond Restriction''''Underwater Speleology'' Volume 36 Number 1, January/February/March *''Deep Holes. Unraveling The Mysteries of the Bahamas''''Underwater Speleology'' Volume 36 Number 2, July/August/September *''Mission Spring Exploration''''Underwater Speleology'' Volume 36 Number 3, October/November/December *''The Elk River Streamway: A hump to a sump''''Underwater Speleology'' Volume 37 Number 1, January/February/March *''Eye of the Tiger: On expedition in Tassie''''Underwater Speleology'' Volume 37 Number 2, April/May/June 2010 * ''The Taming Continues: The Peacock to Baptizing Connection'', co-author James Toland''Underwater Speleology'' Volume 38 Number 1, January/February/March 2011

References

External links

*
Agnes Milowka
at

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...