The impacts of coral mining - The Great Barrier Reef: An Environmental History - page 174

Further expansion of the coral mining industry occurred during the 1930s.
More extensive coral mining took place, and the industry was organised using
a system of Coral Areas: reefs and cays that were individually leased and that
were considered to be suitable for working. By 1930, applications by at least eight
individuals and syndicates for the issue of coral licences were being considered by
the Queensland Government . 28 B etween 1930 and 1934, leases for five locations
were granted to Edward Sanders: for Coral Areas No. 1 Cairns (Oyster Cay), No.
3 Cairns (Sudbury Cay), No. 1 Innisfail (Beaver Reef), No. 1 Mackay (Sandpiper
Reef) and No. 1 Townsville (an unnamed sand cay to the north-east of Lucinda) . 29
The applications for coral leases at those areas were accompanied by sketch
maps, one of which is reproduced i n Figure 11.5. Another Coral Area at 'Apollo
Banks' (Upolu Cay) was leased to Walter Edward Tanner and Maurice Joseph
Kenny of Yungaburra in 1930, whose company - Tanner and Kenny Contractors
- applied to dredge for coral lime to produce fertiliser . 30 L ater, in 1934, the lease
for the Coral Area at Hutchinson Reef was extended and the coral leases held by
Sanders, with the exception of the site at Oyster Cay, were taken up by Andrew
Albert Holland of Sydney . 31
Figure 11.5 Sketch map accompanying Sanders' application to mine coral from Sudbury
Cay, 1930. Sudbury Cay is referred to as Fitzroy Sandbank in this sketch map. Source:
PRV8340/1 Item 1, Queensland State Archives, Brisbane