NFSCD #3- Down Under

Hi there Riff Raffers,

Now for something completely different number three.

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He Plays His Harmonica On The Harbour Bed

Maritime Services Board diver Bill Lamb plays a harmonica while standing on the bottom of Sydney Harbour. He developed this curious habit to amuse himself during idle moments and claims that he is the only man in the world who can do it. SWARTHY, thick set and 53-years-old, Lamb decided he would become a diver at the ripe old age of eight. At that time he was living at Jervis Bay and was inspired by a Navy diver doing a repair job on a warship. “I’ve achieved my ambition, and believe me there is no other job like it,” he said. A competent harmonica player on the shore. Lamb is out on his own when it comes to playing at depths up to 60ft. He often takes a harmonica below to entertain his mates above. Inside the spacious diving helmet are attached two clips which hold the harmonica in position near the mouth. It is as easy, Lamb says, to move the mouth across the harmonica, as to move the harmonica across the mouth. Near the harmonica is the microphone of the diver’s telephone. This transmits either orders from the diver or, in Bill’s case, the strains of “I’m Nobody’s Baby Now.”With the Maritime Services Board, .. he works a 40-hour week, spending at least 23 hours of that under water.

By Walter Brooks

A couple of other headlines that featured Bill down under.