Australian of Year to showcase underwater adventures in Limestone Coast

Former Australian of the Year and Thai cave rescuer Dr Richard Harris is heading to the Limestone Coast to tell the story behind his passion for our region’s world-renowned underwater cave system.

Dr Harris will attend charity screenings of his new documentary, My Underwater World, in both Mount Gambier and Naracoorte over two nights. Viewers will be taken back tens-of-thousands of years inside caves that only highly trained divers can access. Dr Harris will share intimate behind the scenes insights from his adventures tracing the underground water’s journey from Bordertown to the sea.

“People would drive through the Limestone Coast and have no idea what is beneath their feet – kilometres of some of the most pristine water-filled tunnels in the country,” he said.

“The Limestone Coast is famed for its food and wine but for me it’s a place of sinkholes, deep caves and millennia-old mysteries, like the bones of megafauna hidden deep within the submerged cave systems.

“It’s one of the premier cave diving locations in the world.  The opportunity for genuine, original exploration still exists on this planet.  By and large the only place to do that is in caves.  And that’s what brings me back every time.”

Dr Harris’ visit is hosted by Limestone Coast Sustainable Futures. Dr Harris will also meet the Limestone Coast Landscape Board Youth Environment Council at Kilsby Sinkhole for an educational session with students keen to share their local knowledge on the topic of water. The council provides opportunities for local secondary students passionate about the environment to explore and learn more about their local landscape working alongside experts from many fields.

Dr Harris said the region’s caves were windows into the aquifer.

“This whole area is like Swiss cheese.  For every entrance, who knows, maybe there are 50 or a hundred different caves we don’t know exist.  I’m always excited to be diving here.  I love this place so much,” Dr Harris said.

“I want to share with people what it’s like in these underwater worlds.  The beauty and fragility of the water systems hidden beneath us.”

Event organiser Dee Nolan, from Limestone Coast Sustainable Futures, said Dr Harris’ documentary

gave us all the opportunity to experience the extraordinary underwater world previously only seen by a handful of cave divers. 

“My Underwater World is an unforgettable and deeply personal tribute to the unique sinkholes and landscape of the Limestone Coast.  Watching it is a reminder that no matter where else we travel, we actually live in one of the most beautiful and pristine places on the planet, and that we must do everything we can to protect our natural resources for future generations. This is a view held strong by our advocacy group,” Ms Nolan said.

Join Dr Harris for this intimate evening at the Oatmill Cinema, Mount Gambier 6 November or Naracoorte Town Hall 7 November 2024, both at 7pm.

All proceeds will be donated to Operation Flinders Foundation, a charity Dr Harris supports. Through its adventure programs in the northern Flinders Ranges, it connects with disengaged youth to help build trust, restore dignity and elevate self-respect.

To learn more or to book tickets visit the Limestone Coast Sustainable Futures Facebook page.

Pic: Dr Richard Harris