Great Barrier Reef Committee (1922 - 1982)

Summary

The Great Barrier Reef Committee was established in 1922 as committee of Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, Queensland Branch (RGSAQ), at the instigation of Henry C. Richards, foundation Professor Geology, University of Queensland, and Matthew Nathan, Governor of Queensland. Initially its aims were to study of the Reef's fauna and flora. and to drill through the Reef. The Committee separated from the RGSAQ in 1924 and remained an independent Committee for nearly 60 years with support from the Queensland Government and the Universities of Queensland and Sydney. Members of the Committee included representatives of universities, scientific societies and government organisations including the RGSAQ, the Queensland Museum, the Queensland Naturalists' Club, and the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. The Committee engaged in a continuing program of scientific research on the Reef, including the organisation of scientific research expeditions. In1951 it founded the Heron Island Research Station, the first marine research station established on the Reef. When incorporated in 1957 Committee membership ceased to be by invitation, but was instead by subscription. In 1983 it reorganised and changed its name to the Australian Coral Reef Society, incorporating the Committee.

Details

The Committee published Reports of the Great Barrier Reef Committee vol. 1 (1925) - vol. 6, no. 3 (1956); (suspended between vol. 6, no. 1 (1947) and vol. 6, no. 2 (1955)). Volume 1 was issued as Transactions of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (Queensland), special series, v.1 (1924).

Related entries

Timeline

 1922 - 1982 Great Barrier Reef Committee
       1983 - Australian Coral Reef Society

Published resources

Book Sections

• Hopley, David, 'Great Barrier Reef Committee' in Encyclopedia of modern coral reefs: structure, form and process, Hopley, David, ed. (Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 2011), pp. 503-4. Details

Journal Articles

• Hamylton, Sarah M.; Hutchings, Pat; Sims, Carrie; and Ward, Selina, 'The Australian Coral Reef Society: the last 40 years of a century working with Australia's coral reefs', Historical Records of Australian Science, 34 (1) (2023), 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR22010. Details
• Hill, Dorothy, 'The Great Barrier Reef Committee, 1922-82: the First Thirty Years', Historical Records of Australian Science, 6 (1) (1984), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9840610001. Details
• Hill, Dorothy, 'The Great Barrier Reef Committee, 1922-1982, Part 2: the last Three Decades', Historical Records of Australian Science, 6 (2) (1985), 195-221. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9850620195. Details

See also

• Lloyd, Rohan James, 'Fathoming the Reef: a history of European perspectives on the Great Barrier Reef from Cook to the GBRMPA', PhD thesis, James Cook University, 2016, 278 pp. Details
• Richards, H. C. and Hill, D., 'Great Barrier Reef bores, 1926 and 1937: description, analyses, interpretations', Report of the Great Barrier Reef Committee, 5 (1942), 1-111. Details
• Spencer, Tom; Brown, Barbara E.; Hamylton, Sarah M.; and McLean, Roger F., '"A close and friendly alliance": biology, geology and the Great Barrier Reef Expedition of 1928 - 1929', Oceanography and marine biology: an annual review, 59 (2021), 89-138. Details