Reconstructing changes in the Great Barrier Reef - The Great Barrier Reef: An Environmental History - page 30

Posters and sketches
Historical posters included the promotional posters published by GBRMPA and
by the QGTB. Those posters revealed little of the exact nature of particular reefs
or reef species. However, they did represent cultural constructions of the Great
Barrier Reef at particular periods in the history of the region: particularly during
the period of rapid tourism expansion from around 1930. Therefore, reproductions
of posters were collected in my research; they convey popular perceptions and
attitudes towards the Great Barrier Reef. Some sketches were also collected as
data. They included sketches found in the manuscript collections of the NLA
and in the Sailing Directions of the lighthouse supply vessel, the Cape Moreton ;
the latter source revealed several physical changes in coral reefs, including the
blasting of access tracks and channels. Sketches also included the illustrations
produced by oral history informants, such as annotations made on printed maps,
during qualitative interviews. One informant, for example, sketched the location
and extent of the coral mining operation at Snapper Island reef. Some valuable
sketch maps, identifying sections of reefs for which coral mining and coral
collecting permits were issued, were found in the QSA.
Collection of oral data
My oral data collection took three forms: re-interrogation of existing oral histories,
collection of original oral histories, and recording of oral fragments from other
sources. The methods of data collection for each are discussed in turn below.
Pre-existing oral histories
Pre-existing oral histories about the Great Barrier Reef were gathered from three
sources. First, the oral history recordings of the School of History, JCU, were
obtained; they consisted of eighteen audio cassettes, produced in 1983, and a
written summary of their main themes. That collection was originally created
in order to investigate crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) outbreaks in the Great
Barrier Reef; however, those oral histories were re-interrogated for information
about more general, historical changes in coral reefs, islands and marine wildlife
species. Second, the extensive oral history collection of the NLA was searched
for recordings relevant to the Great Barrier Reef; ten relevant recordings were
interrogated for data about changes in the Great Barrier Reef and they revealed
many perceptions of changes in the ecosystem, including many references to
COTS infestations. Third, one private oral history recording was obtained,
in which an individual had recorded an informal qualitative interview; it
contained an account of the depletion of fish populations in parts of the Great
Barrier Reef.