Other impacts on coral reefs - The Great Barrier Reef: An Environmental History - page 187

Figure 12.2 The boat channel created at Lady Musgrave Island reef, 1966. Source: Ref.
66/16656A, 2 November 1966, SRS5416/1 Box 9 Item 57, NP224, Bunker - Lady Musgrave
Island, Queensland State Archives, Brisbane
There is a narrow passage through the reef which is said to have been made
by Japanese fishermen. I have no definite information on this matter, the
passage is certainly narrow, and as far as appearances are concerned could
have been formed in this way. As it is the only clear gap through the reef, and
contains reasonably deep water, it is not easy to explain it on purely natural
grounds.
A survey undertaken in 1966 recorded the position and dimensions of the
boat channel at Lady Musgrave Island reef: the channel was located to the north-
west of the cay, and was 100 feet long, 66 feet wide and 20 feet deep (Figure 12.2) .
Another access track was created at North Reef, in around 1960, to allow the
lighthouse supply vehicle - an amphibious DUKW vehicle - to transport stores
from the Cape Moreton supply vessel to the lighthouse. An entry in the Sailing
Directions used by the Captain of the Cape Moreton , made on 13 May 1960, stated:
'Narrow gap in live coral to be blasted to width suitable for [low water] DUKW
landing' (Chesterman, 1973, no pagination). The track was created at the edge of
reef flat, on the north-western side of the island (Figure 12.3) . Many other reefs
were traversed by the amphibious vehicles used by the lighthouse supply service,
and the Sailing Directions describe the difficulty in negotiating some reefs in the
vehicles as a result of isolated coral outcrops and coverings of live soft corals,
which presumably were damaged in the process (Chesterman, 1973).