The Hart House Underwater Club (HHUC) is one of the premier diving clubs in Canada. NAUI probably sparked the HHUC’s formation when, in the fall of 1961, the third ever (and first outside of the United States) NAUI Instructor Course was held in Hart House on the central campus of the University of Toronto using the classroom and pool facilities. Hart House is a beautiful structure of gothic design built in 1919 by the Massey Foundation and was donated to the University of Toronto. The Founders’ Prayer states the mission of Hart House is to bring faculty and students together to discover good fellowship in discussion, debate and, among other things, sports and games. That Canadian NAUI Instructor Course at Hart House had about thirty-two participants. Two Canadian Diving Leaders, C. Ben Davis NAUI 101L and George Burt NAUI 102 were co-directors of that first Canadian ITC and students in the Course at the same time! The ITC Course picture identifies the staff and students and includes a dedication by Ben Davis written on the thirtieth anniversary of NAUI.
That 1961 ITC drew quite a lot of interest in scuba diving in the Hart House community. Jack MacQuarrie, a Canadian Navy clearance diver, taught a course in the fall of 1962 and the HHUC was founded. In 1964 the previously mentioned Ben Davis and George Burt were brought in to run a NAUI Scuba Diver Certification Course. The HHUC has been exclusively certifying NAUI divers and leaders ever since. Ben and George conducted NAUI Certification Courses for the Club until 1969. In that year Dr. Don MacKenzie NAUI 1069, a physician at the University, took over as Training Director after completing his NAUI ITC in Hawaii. (The pictures of Ben George and Don are taken from the program of the August 1967 Annual Convention of the Underwater Society of America held in Toronto at the Park Plaza Hotel) C. Ben Davis continued to be active with the HHUC speaking at the Club’s 45th Reunion in 2007, guest lecturing for our 2010 NAUI Divemaster Course, and attending the 50th Reunion in 2012. What a resource Ben has been to our Club!
In the seventies under Dr. MacKenzie’s leadership, the Hart House Underwater Club flourished. Don ran NAUI courses two nights of the week all through the university academic year using a system that developed diving leaders by bringing back students to volunteer their help teaching for the club programs. With this experience, many of Don’s scuba course graduates went on to become NAUI Instructors. Don MacKenzie was the driving force for the club’s very successful Inner Space Seminar Series that featured world diving leaders such as Dr. Peter Bennett, Dr. James Vorosmarti, Lee Somers and Philippe Cousteau. Dr. Don firmly established the HHUC as a NAUI supporter.
Outside of the Club, MacKenzie made inroads for NAUI through his role as a Professor with the School of Physical and Health Education (P&HE) at the University of Toronto. In 1969, Dr. Joe MacInnis, the designer and builder of the first Canadian underwater research station “Sublimnos” required certified scuba students. Don MacKenzie ran a course NAUI Scuba Diver Course for third year students in the School for academic credit and offered the students diving experience with Dr. MacInnis and Sublimnos. The School of P&HE offered Skin Diving and Skin Diving Leader Courses and in 1973 a P&HE course for fourth year students leading to certification as a NAUI Instructor for academic credit under the Directorship of Dr. MacKenzie. This NAUI Instructor Course, as a University Course, was the first of its kind in North America and met a strong need in our area until 1980. The course hours were almost double that of a regular ITC and many students found it to be their most challenging and rewarding course. It included students from many different faculties.
A strong NAUI presence in Canada led to the Incorporation of NAUI Canada in 1971 that included HHUC members as original Board members. HHUC members helped organize both NAUI IQs (International Conference on Underwater Education) held in Toronto in 1978 and 1981. A strong NAUI presence in the Hart House Underwater Club can be credited to the tireless leadership of many NAUI leaders over the fifty years to date.
NAUI Instructors of HHUC
By surname
Dave Addyman #1211,
Alex Ayers #51979,
Phil Barton, #33524,
Lawrence Beagan #6226,
Bob Belcher #3836,
Bill Blakey #3875,
Bill Boersma #4768,
Rob Boersma #4715,
Susan Bondy #37908,
Martin Bonert #33907
Sandy Brown #4083,
Mario Buszynski, #6703,
Ellen Dimitroff #4707,
Glen Cauterman #2032,
Kathryn Ryans #7446,
Tom Cullen #7080,
Val Cummins #7427,
Ben Davis #101,
Carolyn Deeth #5222,
Bill Dowkes #3925,
Andrew Garay,
Courtney Gibson #51941,
Sarah Gibson #52046,
Barry Green #16604,
Jason Grenier
Susan Heal # 2528
Glenn Hibbard #51958,
Steve Kozak #104,
Mark Kummerer #32862,
Liz Lazier #4356,
Adrian Lomas #3285,
Larry Lundy #4756,
Don MacKenzie #1069,
Diana Mansell #37909,
John McCandless,
Rebecca Metcalfe #32766,
Britton Mockridge #2036,
Karen Parisien #16721,
Jason Pole #52049,
David Reid, #50542
Sharon Reid, #50543
Tim Richards #8424,
John Rubinstein #22278,
Beth Simpson #4357,
Katryn Smith
Henry So,
Michael Starr #51957,
Bob Stillwell #3633,
Lee Strickland #51268,
Ian Thompson #52057,
Dave Thorne #7430,
John Todd #5240,
Will Tremain #46783,
Tom Tumilty #1222,
Igor Veljovic #34205,
Carolyn Weckesser #11000,
Gain Wong #5225.
Yes, the Hart House Underwater Club and NAUI have been buddies for many decades. As a NAUI Educational Institution, we have taught courses at all Recreational and Leadership levels. Our Scuba Diver Courses are twelve weeks long with high Instructor to student ratios. We have our own compressor and forty sets of gear at the Olympic fourteen-foot deep pool on the U of T campus in downtown Toronto. Our Scuba Diver Course open water training is conducted in the freshwater diving capital of Canada, Tobermory, Ontario. As further proof of our NAUI vitality, Rebecca Metcalfe NAUI 32766 and Bob Belcher NAUI 3836 have taken a group of seven Club members through Master Scuba Diver and have graduated them all as NAUI Divemasters.
Congratulations to NAUI on its Fiftieth Birthday in 2010 and HHUC on its Fiftieth Birthday in 2012.