A New eBook! - Expedition to the Great Barrier Reef

A new eBook, Expedition to the Great Barrier Reef: the story of a ground-breaking scientific mission to Low Isles, Queensland in 1928-1929, and an overview of its legacies, has been written by historian (and JCU Library Special Collections staffer) Trisha Fielding, with contributions from Special Collections volunteers Suzie Davies and Liz Downes. It's available to read online (or download) for free at https://jcu.pressbooks.pub/

Book summary:

In 1928, a group of highly-talented young British scientists arrived on a small island off the coast of far north Queensland on a mission to conduct a year-long study of the largest coral reef in the world — the Great Barrier Reef. Through rigorous scientific investigation into the biological and geological complexities of the reef, they hoped to uncover precisely what coral reefs were, and in doing so, to better understand the life cycles of the animal and plant life on the reef and in the surrounding sea. None of them had ever seen a coral reef before. This is the story of their year on the Great Barrier Reef, and of the ongoing legacies of this ground-breaking expedition. 

 

L-R: Liz Downes, Trisha Fielding, Suzie Davies, pictured on the day the eBook was launched, 29 June 2023. Photo: Amber Swayn.

Read the full blog post on JCU Library News Blog

You can also read these other blog posts I've written about the Great Barrier Reef Expedition:

The Adventures of Maurice and Mattie Yonge in North Queensland

Minnie & Grace - the women who fed a scientific expedition

The adventures of Maurice & Mattie Yonge in North Queensland

In the late 1920s a young English couple kept a photographic record of their travels throughout North Queensland. The photographs now represent a unique snapshot of what are now well-established Far North Queensland tourist destinations. Maurice Yonge, a marine biologist from Cambridge, and his wife Mattie Yonge, a medical doctor, were in North Queensland as part of a scientific expedition to discover the mysteries of the Great Barrier Reef. They spent 13 months living at Low Isles, and during their stay they had the opportunity to do a few short excursions and see the sights of North Queensland.

Group outing on the Atherton Tablelands, January 1929. Maurice Yonge is roughly centre of photo with a pith helmet in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth. Photo: National Library of Australia

Maurice and Mattie Yonge, seated on a garden bench at 'Fairyland', Kuranda, 1929. Photo: National Library of Australia

View towards the Queen's Hotel, Mossman, 1929. Photo: National Library of Australia

View of the main Street, Herberton, c.1929. Photo: National Library of Australia

View of Cooktown, c. 1928. Photo: National Library of Australia

Horse riding in Yungaburra. Maurice Yonge is pictured on the right, 1929. Photo: National Library of Australia


On one of their short sojourns, the Yonges swam at Lake Barrine, dined at the Lake Eacham Hotel in Yungaburra, breakfasted at Herberton, lunched at Ravenshoe, visited Millaa Millaa Falls and Malanda Falls, visited various places around Yungaburra on horseback, and took the train to Barron Falls. They covered quite a lot of ground in just a few days!

Mattie Yonge with arms stretched out across the base of a tree to indicate the size of the trunk, probably Atherton Tablelands, 1929. Photo: National Library of Australia

If you'd like to read more about Maurice and Mattie Yonge and the Great Barrier Reef Expedition, check out the eBook I was lead author on for JCU Library's Special Collections - https://jcu.pressbooks.pub/yonge/ (this links to the eBook! Once there, scroll down and click the button "Read Book" )