Other impacts on coral reefs - The Great Barrier Reef: An Environmental History - page 184

Other impacts on coral reefs
Introduction
This chapter presents evidence of some other physical impacts on coral reefs of the
Great Barrier Reef that have occurred since European settlement: the clearing of
access channels and tracks in coral reefs, the effects of military target practice, the
impacts of reef-walking and the development of tourism infrastructure, which are
discussed below in turn. All of those activities commenced - and some had ceased
- before the formation of the GBRMP in 1975. Some of the activities mentioned
in this chapter - such as military operations and the clearing of access channels
and tracks - had highly destructive yet localised impacts on coral reefs. In contrast,
other activities, such as reef-walking, were more widespread and prolonged before
protective legislation was introduced to restrict them. Therefore, the activities
presented in this chapter caused a wide range of impacts that varied in their
geographical distribution and intensity. The evidence presented in this chapter
indicates that the reefs at Heron, Lady Musgrave, Fairfax and Green Islands, North
Reef and Upolu Cay, in particular, have been significantly degraded by some of
these activities.
The creation of access channels and tracks in
coral reefs
Some instances of damage to corals in the Great Barrier Reef as a result of the
creation of access channels and tracks have been recorded, including descriptions
of the large boat channel and harbour formed at Heron Island, the boat channel
created at Lady Musgrave Island and the access tracks cleared to allow the servicing
of lighthouses. The access channel created at Heron Island is the largest of those
channels; it is also the example for which most documentary and oral history
evidence exists. An early attempt to improve access to Heron Island for boats took
place in the early 1960s, when explosives were used to breach the outer rim of the
reef on the south-western side of the western tip of the cay, close to the wreck of
the Sydne y . 1 T hen, in 1965, Queensland Airlines proposed a Sandringham flying-
boat service to Heron Island and applied for permission to build a sea-plane landing