Canadian Association of Diving Contractors

Paul Butler died suddenly in the afternoon of September 14^th, 2011, in Marseille, France, apparently of septicaemia or toxic shock.

Paul began his diving career in 1962 with the SAR and Special Operations group of the State of Victoria Police Force in Australia.  While with the police he served as United Nations police liaison in Cyprus.  He also joined the Army Reserve and served with the Australian Special Forces in Vietnam and New Guinea.  In 1980 he joined the National Safety Council of Australia and spent seven seasons in the Antarctic as Diving Supervisor, Superintendent and Expedition Leader.  In 1990 he joined the Australian Emergency Management Group, the main Australian training centre for Emergency Management.  In 1996 he moved on to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources as Manager of Offshore Safety and Security, and National Manager of the Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme (ADAS).

Paul leaves behind his wife, Anitra, and his fourteen-year-old son Josh.  He and Josh travelled through Europe together in June of this year, a trip that Josh will treasure forever.  Paul also leaves an elder son from his first marriage.

Paul first became involved with Canadian diving when he, David Parkes of the DCBC and Chris Sherman of the UK’s HSE started the International Diving Regulators Forum (IDRF), and invited Norway, France and South Africa to join them.  Paul was an ardent proponent for diving safety and for raising the international standard of diver competency.  He strongly supported the basic premises of the IDRF which were to provide for mutual recognition of the certification regimes of the members, and to share best practices in training and certification.  Paul has also been a strong supporter of the Canadian Underwater Conference, attending in person and, last year, making a well-received presentation from Australia, on Skype.

Paul built ADAS into a strong organisation with great depth of personnel, and was grooming Rob Gatt to replace him as Executive Director when he retired.  His death will unsettle ADAS, but it will remain an influential force in international diving as a result of his foresight.

Paul Butler died suddenly in the afternoon of September 14^th, 2011, in Marseille, France, apparently of septicaemia or toxic shock.  He was preparing to attend meetings of the IDRF and the European Diving Technology Committee (EDTC), and his death was an enormous shock to all members of both organisations and indeed to all who knew him and worked with him.  Tributes received from throughout the international diving community show that he will be sorely missed.