Booklets and brochures about Australia's now under threat Great Barrier Reef , going back to the l920s , were among another interesting display mounted by the Special Collections section of the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library, James Cook University, Townsville .
Perusal of the collection presented a picture of the marine wonderland being an area visited by early intrepid tourists, naturalists , shooters , plant collectors , exploiters , pith helmeted male and female scientists .
Of particular interest was the Thomas Cook travel brochure, top row, centre , which contains the 1928 itinerary for a proposed 24 day cruise, starting June 8, by motor boat to " one of the wonders of the world ", offering the chance to go fishing, collect shells, gather orchids, shoot " alligators" and other game , catch and ride turtles , see dugong .
Beginning in Townsville , it went as far north as Cooktown , taking in Cairns, nearby Green Island . On the return journey ,there would be a call at Dunk Island , beautiful home of the late Mr. Bamfield (sic) , scientist and author of Confessions of a Beachcomber, Edmund Banfield.
Palm Island, below, circa l930s, on which it stated lived members of most Queensland tribes and the Torres Strait , would provide a wonderful exhibition of Aboriginal dances.
The booklet , top right , The Great Barrier Reef of Australia ,was the third edition of a revised account by the Great Barrier Reef Committee , Brisbane , 1929, of the earlier work by the late Charles Hedley , F.L.S., Scientific Director of the Great Barrier Reef Committee's investigations . Hedley, described as an enthusiastic and understanding investigator of the Great Barrier Reef , requested his ashes be scattered on the reef.
Palm Island, below, circa l930s, on which it stated lived members of most Queensland tribes and the Torres Strait , would provide a wonderful exhibition of Aboriginal dances.
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After calling at Magnetic Island , the vessel would arrive back in Townsville in time to enable passengers to catch the Brisbane mail train .
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In addition , there is an account by Dr Charles Maurice Yonge, D.Sc.,Ph.D., of the Barrier Reef Expedition from Britain in 1928. Organised by the British Association for the Advancement of Science , led by Dr Yonge, to Low Island . opposite Port Douglas , to carry out the world's first study of coral reefs .
Ten in number, the party was increased by several Australians, including members of the Australian Museum in Sydney . There are photographs of the laboratory set up on the island , a group shot in which pith helmets are many , the 39ft launch Luana , owned by A. C. Wishart, of Brisbane , which was used by the expedition to carry out a variety of tests and sampling. Corals were studied extensively. A geological section cruised along the coast from Townsville to Flinders Islands ; work was carried out around Lizard Island , north of Cooktown and extended into the Torres Strait .
Also included in the publication is a botanical section by Government Botanist C. T. White, with a photograph, below, of Hoop Pines growing on Magnetic Island .This copy had been purchased from Tyrell's Book Shop, Crow's Nest, Sydney .
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Magnetic Island pines today.
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Another gem in the university display graphic at the head of this post , with fish on the cover, bearing the title The Great Barrier Reef , published l928 by Art in Australia , was written by journalist , novelist , mining speculator and politician Randolph Bedford (1868-1941) , possibly more about this dynamic individual later. The slim volume contains photographs by two other prominent Australians of the day-E. F. Pollock , a councillor of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW, and famous photographer and filmmaker , Frank Hurley who made several trips to Antarctica and covered two world wars , dubbed The Man Who Made History .
Pollock did much to popularise early reef tours . In 1925 he sponsored a trip to Capricorn and the Bunker Islands group , taking naturalist friends with him . On another excursion , the party consisted of 21 men and nine women , including two lawyers , five medical doctors, a magistrate and Melbourne "Mel" Ward , a collector for the Australian Museum . These journeys received considerable coverage in the Sydney Morning Herald and helped develop the Queensland tourist industry. Lord Howe Island , off NSW, with the world's southern- most barrier coral reef , was also visited by Pollock and party .
