The Great Barrier Reef is located off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia and is the world's largest coral reef system. Designated a World Heritage Site, it has been subject to increasing pressures from tourism, fishing and climate change, and is now protected as a marine park. This book provides an original account of the environmental history of the Great Barrier Reef, based on extensive archival and oral history research. It documents and explains the main changes in the environments and ecosystems of the reef, with a particular focus on the period since European settlement....