Dive right into Gallipoli history
PHOTOGRAPHER and diver Mark Spencer will give a presentation tonight on a recent expedition to Gallipoli that documented the underwater battlefield at Anzac Cove.
Dr Spencer's work with Australia's leading maritime archaeology team helped uncover a number of new shipwrecks, including a hospital ship on the sea bed.
In a remarkable family tie, his great uncle Victor Markey served as a stretcher bearer during the World War I campaign and quite possibly could have carried wounded to that very ship, 95 years ago.
“It was an amazing feeling to stand exactly where he stood on the shoreline and view the landscape in such a different context, then to dive beneath Gallipoli and see evidence of the underwater battlefield,” Dr Spencer said.
The Coffs Harbour-based underwater photographer is an expert in the Turkish theatre of war.
He was part of an expedition to the Sea of Marmara in 1998, which rediscovered the Australian Navy submarine, the AE2, scuttled in the Dardanelles Strait after the crew surrendered to the Turks.
Dr Spencer will give his presentation as part of the Marine Discovery Series at the National Marine Science Centre tonight at 6.30pm.
Solitary Island Marine Park's Chantelle Burns said it would be a fantastic evening for history buffs.
“Mark is renowned worldwide and his achievements include being appointed a Fellow International of the Explorers Club, based in New York, and assignment photographer for Australian Geographic,” she said.
No bookings are required and refreshments will be provided.
