Carl Atkinson | |
|---|---|
 Carl Atkinson with the wheel fromUSS Peary, sunk in Darwin Harbour | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carl Atkinson |
| Died | 1985 (1986) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Diver and salvaging |
Carl Atkinson (died 1985) was an Australiandiver and salvage expert fromDarwin in theNorthern Territory ofAustralia.
Atkinson lived at Doctor's Gully from 1945 to 1979, where he lived with his pet crocodile named Cuthbert, a snake named Sammy and many dogs. He is attributed with starting the practice of fish feeding, which locals and visitors to Doctor's Gully continue to do today.[1]
Atkinson was an experienced diver for decades. He assisted police on several occasions with search and retrieval work.[2][3][4]
Atkinson built a decompression chamber which was used by Japanese pearl divers to prevent sufferingthe ‘bends’ after diving. He is known to have saved at least 16 pearl divers' lives with this equipment.[1]
AfterWorld War II, Atkinson began acquiring the rights to salvage Darwin's wartime wrecks. With permission from the US Government, he salvaged the cargo ofUSAT Meigs in 1946 including Jeeps, Ford and Chevrolet trucks. Controversy erupted when Atkinson was required to pay heavy duty sales tax on the cargo.[5] He nearly died during the salvage mission when his speedboat sank, leaving him adrift in Darwin Harbour for 11 hours.[6]
He also discovered the location ofUSS Peary.[7] In 1958, Atkinson sold the salvage rights to four wrecks to Japanese company Nanyo Boeki Kaisha Ltd, ahead of theFujita salvage operation in 1959.[8]
Media related toCarl Atkinson at Wikimedia Commons