David Godwin Burchell BEM (23 September 1924 – 20 September 2009) was a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n business man, a recreational scuba diver and a football administrator.

Early life

Burchell was born in

Millicent, South Australia Millicent is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about north of the regional centre of Mount Gambier. In the , the population was 4,760. The town is home to the Milli ...

. At the age of 16, he lost most of his right leg as a result of railway accident. After an unsuccessful attempt to join the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

during World War II, Burchell was accepted by

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

in 1944 and was discharged at the rank of

Leading Aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is an enlisted rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Leading air ...

in 1946. After discharge, Burchell worked on cattle and sheep

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle stat ...

in the Australian

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

. After returning to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, he took up the sport of high

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

and for fifteen years performed with the South Australian Diving Troupe. In 1951, he started

underwater diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving (disambiguation), diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meani ...

which would become a lifetime interest.

Business life

From 1951 to 1960, he worked as a country representative for the

Shell Company A shell corporation is a company or corporation with no significant assets or operations often formed to obtain financing before beginning business. Shell companies were primarily vehicles for lawfully hiding the identity of their beneficial ...

. In 1960, he started two businesses, Adelaide Skin Diving Centre, a scuba diving centre which he later sold, and Featherston Interiors, a contract furnishing business which he operated until retirement.

Discovery of the wrecks of HMAS ''Perth'' and USS ''Houston''

In 1967, Burchell led an expedition to locate and successfully find the

wrecks ''Wrecks'' is a one-man play by Neil LaBute, that was commissioned and produced by the Everyman Palace Theatre in Cork, Ireland. The play was a part of the city's Capital of Culture programme in 2005.LaBute, Neil''Wrecks'Wrecks: And Other Play ...

of HMAS ''Perth'' and USS ''Houston'', both sunk at the

Battle of Sunda Strait The Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java, and Sumatra. On the night of 28 February 1 March 1942, the Australian light cruiser , American heavy cruiser , ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

from HMAS ''Perth'', which was the object of David's search, is now in the collection of the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

Community service

Burchell was the President of the

North Adelaide Football Club The North Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Roosters, is an Australian rules football club affiliated with the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The club plays its home games at Prospect ...

from 1969 to 1971. In 1973, Burchell was one of six member of the South Australian Government's inquiry into scuba diving deaths in fresh water sink-holes and underwater caves in the South East of South Australia. The Report of the Committee "appointed to investigate safety precautions for Scuba Divers in Fresh Water Sink Holes and Underwater Caves" which was presented to the Government in January 1974 essentially recommended non-legislative response to the problem. The subsequent voluntary program of regulation via diver training and certification has been carried out by the Cave Divers Association of Australia. The success of the program is evident with the low fatality rate in cave diving since the implementation of the Report's recommendations. Burchell was a member and the patron of both the Underwater Explorers Club of South Australia and the

Society for Underwater Historical Research The Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) was an amateur maritime archaeology organisation operating in South Australia (SA). It was formed in 1974 by recreational scuba divers and other persons to pursue an interest in maritime ar ...

Awards

In 1968, Burchell received a British Empire Medal (Civil Division) in "recognition of service to diving and collection of war relics". The City of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in Texas made Burchell an Honorary Citizen in recognition of the discovery of wreck of the USS ''Houston''.Thring, Harry; ‘Explorer rose above adversity to shine,’ ''The Advertiser'' (Adelaide, SA), 09/01/2010, page 70.

Publications

*''One Foot in the Grave: An Autobiography'', 1967 *''The Bells of Sunda Strait'', 1971, Rigby, Adelaide () and 1972, R. Hale, London: Rigby,Adelaide () *''My World: An Autobiography'', 1988, () *''A Life Downunder: An Autobiography'', 1999, Charnwood Library, UK ()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burchell, David Godwin 1924 births 2009 deaths Australian underwater divers People from Millicent, South Australia Australian recipients of the British Empire Medal Australian amputees Writers from South Australia South Australian National Football League administrators Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II