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Bill Palmer
Also known asWilliam Hall Palmer
BiographyBill Palmer attended school in Whangarei at St Joseph's then Whangarei Boys High School. He trained as a watchmaker and worked in his family's jewelry business in Whangarei. He eventually became the manager and ran the company for 25 years before moving to Auckland in the late 1990s to work as a jewelry appraiser.
In his spare time he was a keen diving enthusiast. As a member of the Whangarei Underwater Club, he was actively involved in diving and salvaging local wrecks during the 1960s and 1970s alongside his friends Kelly Tarlton, Wade Doak and many others. They were pioneers and innovators in diving using new technologies of aqua-lungs, compensators and wetsuits.
On 12 September 1964, at the age of 23, Bill Palmer set a New Zealand underwater marathon record. He spent 10 hours and 5 minutes submerged in a water tank set up on his back lawn. He successfully consumed three bananas and read a magazine while underwater.
Also in 1964, Bill discovered and dived on the wreck of the Waitemata at Matapouri Bay. This ship had sunk in 1903 with a cargo of logs.
Along with Kelly Tarlton, he dived on the wreck of the Boyd at Whangaroa Harbour, where they found artifacts including cannon balls and pieces of glass and crockery.
Bill was skilled in searching underwater for rare mollusks and he discovered 13 species never before recorded in New Zealand. Three were named after him. Many of these were found at the Poor Knights Islands off the east coast of Northland where he spent many hours diving. He was also the first to discover black coral there.
When the weather was too rough to dive, the friends enjoyed caving. They explored many Northland underwater caves including Waiomio Caves near Kawakawa and Abbey Caves near Whangarei, where they ventured into previously inaccessible areas using dive tanks.
OccupationJeweller, Gemmologist, Jewelry valuer, Watch repairer
BiographyBill Palmer attended school in Whangarei at St Joseph's then Whangarei Boys High School. He trained as a watchmaker and worked in his family's jewelry business in Whangarei. He eventually became the manager and ran the company for 25 years before moving to Auckland in the late 1990s to work as a jewelry appraiser. In his spare time he was a keen diving enthusiast. As a member of the Whangarei Underwater Club, he was actively involved in diving and salvaging local wrecks during the 1960s and 1970s alongside his friends Kelly Tarlton, Wade Doak and many others. They were pioneers and innovators in diving using new technologies of aqua-lungs, compensators and wetsuits.
On 12 September 1964, at the age of 23, Bill Palmer set a New Zealand underwater marathon record. He spent 10 hours and 5 minutes submerged in a water tank set up on his back lawn. He successfully consumed three bananas and read a magazine while underwater.
Also in 1964, Bill discovered and dived on the wreck of the Waitemata at Matapouri Bay. This ship had sunk in 1903 with a cargo of logs.
Along with Kelly Tarlton, he dived on the wreck of the Boyd at Whangaroa Harbour, where they found artifacts including cannon balls and pieces of glass and crockery.
Bill was skilled in searching underwater for rare mollusks and he discovered 13 species never before recorded in New Zealand. Three were named after him. Many of these were found at the Poor Knights Islands off the east coast of Northland where he spent many hours diving. He was also the first to discover black coral there.
When the weather was too rough to dive, the friends enjoyed caving. They explored many Northland underwater caves including Waiomio Caves near Kawakawa and Abbey Caves near Whangarei, where they ventured into previously inaccessible areas using dive tanks.
OccupationJeweller, Gemmologist, Jewelry valuer, Watch repairerScrapbook
Whangarei Photo News November 1964
Relates to
Subject/KeywordsScuba Diving
Further Information
Bill Palmer. Northland Room Digital Collections, accessed 09/12/2024, https://wdc.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/5076
