Max Gleeson is one of Australia’s most experienced wreck divers and authorities on NSW shipwrecks.

Max started spear fishing in 1965. In 1974 he completed a scuba diving course, expanding his interest to both sports.

However it was a visit to the barrier reef in 1980 and a borrowed Nikonos 11 underwater camera that would spark his interest into underwater photography. The following year he purchased a second hand Nikonos 111 and the learning curve began.

Significant as the Barrier Reef trip in 1980 was, it was a dive in 1984 to the wreck of the Tuggerah that would steer Max’s interest into maritime history.

In 1987 he co-authored the book S.S. Yongala Dive to the Past. In 1993 he published The Vanished Fleet of the Sydney Coastline, the first of three books on the wrecks of the NSW coast. Shipwrecks, Storms and Seamen followed in 1996 and Destination Never Reached in 2004. In 2000 he released S.S. Yongala, Townsville’s Titanic, a completely new book on the subject.

Max won six awards in the Australasian Underwater Photographer of the Year competition during the period from 1985 to 1993, winning the event in 1989. In 2007 he won the Oztec video award.

In 2005 he stepped into the world of High Definition video, hoping to realize an ambition to produce a series of documentaries on the wrecks of NSW. In 2007 the first of the highly regarded DVD’s was released, The Tragic Trio, followed by Ghost Ships of the Coast Run.

At Oztec 2013 Max released his latest documentary, The Seal Rocks and the S.S. Catterthun. Almost eight years in the filming, it covers the colourful history of the Seal Rocks area, its Grey Nurse shark population and the shipwrecks, including the legendary wreck of the S.S. Catterthun.

For twenty years Max has had a regular segment on the High Tide fishing show, firstly on radio 1017 2KY, and more recently 1269 2SM, discussing various shipwrecks, both locally and overseas.

In September 2011 Max was asked to film a promotional video for the Blue Lagoon Dive shop in Truk Lagoon.

That production led to the project of a two DVD series with long term dive partner Lesley Hillyer on the shipwrecks of Truk Lagoon, which was released in September 2013 and is available for sale now. Max and Lesley are now filming the second DVD on the lesser known wrecks of Truk Lagoon.

In addition to the Truk Lagoon project, Max is presently continuing his enduring passion for Australia's most famous shipwreck, The S.S. Yongala. Max has permission to enter the protected shipwreck to film the interior. Stay tuned for this latest documentary.

Visit the Book and DVD areas of the website to see the titles that Max has released, stop by the Gallery to view some trailers and see some great wreck photography, you can get in touch with Max here.