Dr Richard Harris SC OAM

Biography

Dr Richard “Harry” Harris has worked in anaesthesia, diving and aeromedical retrieval medicine in Adelaide, South Australia.

His passion for cave diving goes back to the 1980’s and has taken him to the corners of the globe in search of new adventures.

Harry and his colleagues have explored caves to 245m depth, and shipwrecks to over 150m, in dives lasting over 16 hours. He is an enthusiastic UW photographer and videographer who is now also building a career in documentary films.

Harry has a professional and voluntary interest in search and rescue operations, establishing the first sump rescue training course in Australasia. By building relationships with emergency services locally he has been preparing for such an event. The 2018 Thailand cave rescue was an opportunity to put this training to work.

In 2018 he received the Star of Courage, Australia’s second highest civilian award for bravery, and the medal of the Order of Australia for his role in the Thailand cave rescue.

Harry is the 2019 Australian of the Year for South Australia and the joint 2019 Australian of the Year with his dive partner Craig Challen.

Topics

• Resilience
• Troubleshooting
• How to focus on goals no matter the odds

Testimonials

Dr Richard Harris was absolutely outstanding!! Such a humble man with a captivating story. His generosity to share so much of his experience and be so raw was a privilege to listen to. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and the audience were eager to ask endless questions of him. Thank you.
MCI Australia

Dr Richard Harris was a sheer delight to work with. He went over and above to customise his presentation to our audience which certainly did not go unnoticed. The feedback for his session was amazing with phrases such as “humble hero” and “true Australian legend” and being used freely. There was not a dry eye in the house.
eBusiness Media