Ron Allum (born 22 March 1949) is an Australian submarine designer, cave diver and inventor.
Ron Allum | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 March 1949 New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Submarine designer |
| Spouse | Yvette Allum |
| Children | 2 |
Allum is regarded as one of the world's most experienced and accomplished cave divers. In 1983 he led an expedition to Cocklebiddy Cave of the Nullarbor Plain. The expedition achieved a world record push of 6.24 km (3.88 mi) into the cave system.[1]
Allum collaborated with James Cameron on a project to make a live broadcast from the wreck of the Titanic in 2005. This involved designing and building a 6,000 m (20,000 ft) fiber-optic spool system link to the surface.[2]
Allum designed the Deepsea Challenger submarine that took James Cameron to the Challenger Deep, the lowest point on Earth and the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) below sea level. This record-breaking exploration took place on 26 March 2012.[2]
Allum was a national finalist for Senior Australian of the Year in 2013.[3]
In 2019, Allum appeared in episode 17 of series 3 of the children's cartoon Go Jetters, playing himself. The episode featured exploration of the Mariana Trench using the Deepsea Challenger.
References
edit- ^ "James Cameron's Deep Sea challenge: Ron Allum". National Geographic. 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Legend of the deep: Ron Allum". Australian Geographic. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ^ "Ron Allum". National Australia Day Council. 2013. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.