Dorian Ball and the Diana Cargo

On Sunday 20^th May 2016, SEACS members were warmly welcomed by Dorian and Deidre Ball at their black and white colonial home to see Dorian’s collection and hear about his extensive salvaging experience in the region.

He was involved in both the Hatcher and Diana wrecks, which are milestones in Southeast Asian shipwreck salvage history. Not only did Dorian recount his quest to find and bring up the wrecks, but he shared some interesting unpublished tidbits (one ship had 300-400 bottles of alcohol on board) and showed us some unusual items, such as metal bowls and springs, whose use has yet to be determined.

The dozen SEACS members had the added pleasure of viewing and discussing the pieces in the Ball’s collection.