Kelly Tarlton - Tutukaka, Northland, New Zealand
S 35° 36.560 E 174° 31.559
60H E 275905 N 6056563
Kellt Tarlton was a diver, dreamer, explorer, inventor, instigator, worker, storyteller and father; a man who linked us all with his love of the sea.
Waymark Code: WMA2EK
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 11/05/2010
Views: 2
It was Kelly Tarlton’s dream to display to the world Southern Ocean marine life from a diver’s perspective. On January 25, 1985, the vision became a reality with the opening of Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World – an amazing feat of skill, craftsmanship and leading edge design.
Interest in the aquarium exceeded all expectations and in just two months, Kelly greeted the 100,000th visitor. The very same day, in a sad loss for everyone touched by the magic of the aquarium, Kelly died of heart complications. But as the landmark attraction goes from strength to strength, Mr Tarlton's memory lives on. (
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Childhood dreams
As a young man growing up in the South Island, Kelly was moved by the unexplored beauty of the sea when he saw French marine scientist Jacques Cousteau’s film, Silent World. Not deterred by lack of funds to buy scuba diving equipment, Kelly built his own, often with a few improvements on the original design, from which he copied! He soon developed a reputation as an adventurous underwater photographer and his shots appeared in international magazines.
Devoted to the underworld
Kelly became an expert in marine archaeology and salvage after he formed his commercial diving company, and he spent much time working on famous shipwrecks around the world. A keen inventor, Kelly developed a water blasting technique that revolutionised salvage diving.
The Museum of Shipwrecks at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands was established by Kelly in 1970. During this period he was involved in recovering Captain Cook’s lost anchor in Tahiti, working over a Spanish treasure galleon off the Florida coastline and surveying for the famous wreck of the Lutine in Holland.
Underwater World
In 1982, Kelly and his wife Rosemary travelled the world researching aquariums in preparation for creating Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World. At the time, many must have thought it bizarre to consider housing the new aquarium in the disused sewer under Auckland’s waterfront. But Kelly’s vision for the site was spot-on, and the enormous success of the attraction was only just becoming apparent when Kelly passed away, aged just 47.