The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-07-14
GREAT BARRIER
LURES SAVANTS
Vast Submarine Reef of Coral
OFF Australia.

washington. ID. C.-WNU Service.
IF THE sea went dry along the
east coast Of Queensland, a thou
i sand miles OF coral "maze" would
be revealed. The Great Barrier
Reef Of Australia must not be mag
ined as a continuous structure. like
the Great Wall Of China; it Is formed
by innumerable reefs, and a map Of
just one section resembles a complex
jig-saw puzzle Then there are the
isles. mountainous and forested. Of the
inner zone. and the atolls and Gays
that are true coral islands
For nearly a century the Great Bar
rier has intrigued science by the prob
lens that 1t presents to biologists.
photographers and naturalists. 1t has
lured such masters of marine zoology
as Alexander Agassiz and A G. Mayer
from America, and recently British
expedition broke camp after year on
Captain Cooks first coral island.
In all the Seven Seas there Is moth
ing so wonderful as this vast subma-
rine curtain" of coral. the largest
coral reef in the world, whose nature
and origin remain half yelled In mys-
terry.
Tourists from many lands and thou
sands Of Australians have made the
voyage through "Australia's Grand
Canal" the area between the main
land, with its purple hills, and the
Outer Barrier. A calm and pleasant
trip during a portion of the year, It
may be perilous In the cyclone season.
Many launches and fishing craft
have been wrecked among the coral,
or gone down in the heart Of a storm
within the Barrier. But navigation
is no longer the nightmare it was to
the early voyagers, before the reef
mazes had been mapped and routes
safe for even large vessels discovered.
Danger exists still, but the old fear
has gone-the haunting fear Of dis
aster in the Realm of Coral
Surf Is Amazing Spectacle.
Majestic is the meeting Of league
long rollers Of the ocean and the
Great Barrier On days when the sun
Lit water behind the coral bastion is
calm enough for a canoe, mountainous
waves pound the reefs increasingly.
The surf on the Outer Barrier at high
tide, when the broad reefs crests are
hidden, presents an amazing spectacle.
A 'long line of boiling surf, springing
up in mid-ocean without any apparent
cause" Is the late Charles Hedley's de-
scription. That great naturalist, whose
knowledge of the Barrier was unri-
vailed. devoted the last few years of
his life to the study Of its problems.
Swain Reefs, far south, mark the
beginning Of the Great Barrier Outer
System. Farther north, the linear
reefs are developed. They are some
miles in length and up to half a mile
across, with broad separating chan
nels.
A lighthouse on Lady Elliot Islet
marks the southern limit of coral
formed land, ga broad platform Of
solid coral half a mile In circumfer-
ence" Then comes an archipelago,
the Bunker group, followed by the
Capricorn Group, popular resort now
Of naturalists, and almost picnic
ground for holidaymakers from the
mainland.
Within the Tropics, the maze is null
tiplied. From a hill at Cooktown you
may see, as Captain Cook did In ITO,
the shadows of the ceral reefs wher-
ever you look out to sea. The navi-
gator who explored 20O6 miles Of the
east coast of Australia was ignorant
Of the existence Of coral In those wa
tiers when his ship struck on Endeav-
our reef at night
Had the weather been stormy she
must have been lost, for coral fangs
had pierced her hull But calm sea
enabled the sailors to patch up the
bark by "fothering," and Cook sailed
her to the beach for careening and re-
pairs. Meanwhile. gazing from the
hilltop, he discovered the coral.
With a seaworthy ship again, he
won q way out OF the maze, gaining
open ocean through one Of the great
openings in the Barrier. He escaped
many dangers only to meet with 9TH
ers a few days later.
The Endeavour. becaImed of the
Outer Barrier, was borne toward the
reef. She rose at last on huge wave
and seemed doomed to destruction.
with only the breadth Of a wave be-
tween her and the coral But "a light
air of wind sprung up." and the ship
was saved.
Cook Claimed the Coast.
Captain Cook sought eagerly for an
opening, and found his "Providential
Channel" He was In the Grand canal
once more, and with infinite care took
the bark to Torres strait Landing
on an island which he named Posses
sion" he claimed the whole eastern
coast of Australia for Britain, In the
name of King George ID. A memorial
to Captain Cook has been erected on
Possession island by the federal gov
eminent. a simple obelisk bearing
tablet OF bronze.
Bligh, commander Of the Bounty,
and his eighteen men who were faith
full, made that memorable open-boat
voyage from Tahitian waters to Res
toration island, within the Great Bar
rier, in 1850. The mutineefs' victims
reached the reef at midnight. or rath-
er came within sound of the surf, and
two days later found passage to
safety. The boat voyage was contin-
ued along the east coast of Queens
land and through Torres strait TO
Timor.
These old-time periIous voyages are