History

Human involvement with the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area began thousands of years before Captain Cook struck a reef near the current site of Cooktown. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have fished and hunted its waters, navigated between the islands of its coast. Australia's aboriginal people not only know of the existence of the Reef, they had large outrigger canoes that enabled them to travel to the islands and outer reefs. They moved their settlements up and down the coast for thousands of years before the coming of the Europeans.

The Great Barrier Reef is important in the history and culture of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Important cultural sites and values exist on many islands and reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Region. Animals such as dugongs and turtles have long been part of Aboriginal dreaming and are important in many aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture.

Captain James Cook is the first person to record the existence of a reef as he sailed up the eastern coast of the continent. He first noticed shoals in the vicinity of Great Keppel Island, but managed to continue north through the Whitsunday Passage, christening features and islands along the way. The Endeavour finally ran aground on a small reef Cape Tribulation, and only expert seamanship enabled the ship to limp more than 70km to the mouth of a river where repairs could be made. Today the river is called Endeavour, and the settlement on its banks is Cooktown.

After all repairs were done, Cook decided to try for the open sea, but could not find a way through the natural barrier. He sailed north to Lizard Island. Landing on the island, he and his botanist, Joseph Banks, climbed to its highest point and were able to see a break in the reef large enough to permit the passage of the Endeavour. This is known as Cook's Passage.

It was Matthew Flinders who named the reef the Great Barrier Reef and it was he who charted a safe passage through by sending small boats ahead to sound the depths. This passage is still known as Flinders' Passage.

The Great barrier Reef Today

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, of the coast of north east Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from space and is the largest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. The Great Barrier Reef supports a wide diversity of life, and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN has labeled it one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The Queensland National Trust has named it a state icon of Queensland

A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as overfishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures to the reef and its ecosystem include water quality from runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, and cyclic outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish. The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and utilized by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and is an important part of local groups' cultures. The reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially in the Whitsundays and Cairns regions. Tourism is also an important economic activity for the region.

The Great Barrier Reef supports a vast variety of marine life, including many vulnerable or endangered species. Thirty species of whale, dolphin have been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef. Large portions of dugongs live there as well. Six species of turtle come to the reef to breed including the amazing leatherback sea turtle. Salt water crocodiles live in the mangroves nearby.

The most significant threat to the Great Barrier Reef is Climate change. Mass coral bleaching, caused by rising sea temperatures, is also a threat and is becoming an annual occurrence. With climate change many species of fish and turtles are moving elsewhere and with that the ecosystem in the barrier reef is losing its life in a manner of speaking.

Four hundred species of coral, both hard coral and soft coral, are found on the reef. The majority of these spawn gametes, breeding in mass spawning events that are controlled by the rising sea temperatures of spring and summer, lunar cycle, diurnal cycle.

The fishing industry in the barrier reef, controlled by Queensland and fishing in the Great Barrier Reef is pursued commercially, for recreation, and as a traditional means government, is worth 1 billion Australian annually. It employs approximately 2000 people, for feeding one's family.

Before venturing out on the reef one should make sure that they know various poisonous corals and marine life. There are plenty of poisonous fish and coral in the reef that could be the end to a great Holiday to Queensland islands.