In 1907 Loch Striven in Scotland is being used to test new theories about the dangers of deep water diving. Data tables for Navy Sea Divers are formulated here to enable man to dive deeper and longer, to the very edge of human limits. In 1912 These tables will accompany twelve ex-navy men, divers and their tenders, to one of the most isolated places in the Empire, Broome. Their mission is to break the hold Asian divers have over the pearling industry and make it comply with the Australian Government’s newly enacted, White Australia Policy.
What unfolds is a tragic tale. A fatal collision of pride, greed, politics and power. Ironically, the story ends with Broome standing defiantly against The White Australia Policy, cemented in history as Australia’s first truly multicultural town. But this independence came at a terrible cost. All of the British divers are struck down by paralyses. Three of them die. THE WHITE DIVERS is their remarkable, untold story.