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The Langley Diving Helmet Collection
Recommended for all ages
Immerse yourself in one of the most significant collections of diving heritage in Australia through The Langley Diving Helmet Collection.
The Langley Diving Helmet Collection exhibition features historic diving helmets and associated equipment used for salvage, pearl shelling, marine science and war.
The Langley Diving Helmet Collection was built up over a 30-year period by former abalone diver Greg Langley of Hobart and was donated to Queensland Museum in November 2007 through the Commonwealth’s Cultural Gifts Program, with further objects donated in June 2008.
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Things to see:
- Get an insight into the history of Standard Dress Diving and how this invention revolutionised the industry, making the underwater worker an essential part of salvage, industry and civil engineering from the late 1830s.
- Learn how the diving helmet worked and the risks people during that time took when wearing them.
- Discover how two British submarine engineering companies, Siebe Gorman and Heinke dominated the world's diving equipment business for decades.
- View the second oldest 'closed' standard dress diving helmet known to exist from c1840 created by Augustus Siebe.
- Learn how vital air was supplied to the hard hat divers by the low pressure rotary air pump, and see the display of an original pump and the box it was housed in.
The Langley Diving Helmet Collection display is located inside the Pandora Gallery on Level 1.
You can also see more of the collection on our Queensland Museum Online Collections.
Heritage of Helmets at Museum of Tropical Queensland
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Pandora Gallery
Be captivated by the story of HMS Pandora, the ill-fated ship which was sent to capture the Bounty and her mutinous crew.
Ancient Seas and Reefs
Discover the enormous sea creatures who once ruled Queensland's ancient inland sea.