81. RON ZANGARI 1962 The Swain Reefs with Captain Wally Muller

 Two Ron's, Zangari and Ron Taylor (1963)

Zangari holds the shaving mirror for his captain.

Barbless spear (1962) Ron Zangari poses in one of Ben Cropp's historic photographs.  Ben was using Ron Taylor's camera for these pictures as underwater photography was in it's infancy -  the Calypso Phot not yet available in Australia.

Ron Zangari and the Tiger shark which should have made him famous.

Captain Wally Muller back in The Swain Reefs (1967) and now a spear fishermen.

Ron Zangari was deckhand aboard 42 foot Riversong had a 12 foot 6 inch beam.. Built in 1947 by W. Beattie of Mackay.  The freezer could hold 4,500 pounds of frozen fish fillets.

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 Gannet Cay weather station (The Swain Reefs).  An example of how sand cays move - the weather station was initially in the centre of the cay.

 Ron Taylor filming at the Man and Wife rocks, Yeppoon  Qld  (1963) with Ron Zangari.

Ron Zangari with a good catch at Fitzroy Lagoon (1964)  Brian Rodger from South Australia at right.

Blue spot trout in The Swain Reefs.

Captain Wally Muller - by chance dropped anchor of his charter boat Coralita on an enormous starfish infestation in 1974, the location he said was 'two reefs east of Mystery Cay', The Swain Reefs.  Another smaller infestation filmed for Movietone News was at 'Lavers Cay' - (reef names by Wally Muller were not retained on GBRMPA charts - which gives little or no recognition to this original explorer who sailed these dangerous waters pre GPS from the mid 1950's. aboard his 'Riversong' a lugger-style fishing vessel.

Wally Muller's mentor was Clarrie Nuffer who's vessels were "Sunray" and "Ocean Reaper" (source Ron Zangari 2019)