THE BARRIER REEF

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 1, 3 January 1927, Page 10

THE BARRIER REEF

AUSTRALIA'S RAMPART

A WONDER IN CORAL

FIELD FOR FASCINATING STUDY.

The continent of Australia, while unable to match the large livers or high mountains of ■ other lands,, possesses' one geographical feature in which it is supreme, the largest coral reef in the world. This reef, or more accurately series of reefs, extends along the coast of Queensland for more than one thousand miles. Whilst dreaded by navigators, the reef forms for scien- . tists and naturalists one of the wonders of the world, and it may be destined to play in. the future a very important part in the economic life of the great continent. No ancient mariner ever thought of coral as a thing of beauty o:- romance. To him it was a horror, worse dreaded than the ice-floe or the fog—a cruel demon which might at any instant wreck his vessel without warning. Sad was the fate of sailors who were battered to death in tropic seas on the jagged coral or smothered in the foam; but.more dreadful by far was the death of those who struggledashore alive, only to fall into the hands of cannibals, to be eaten like sheep or fowls. / Captain Cook, like other early navigators, had good cause to dread coral reefs. In 1770, not knowing of the existence of the Great Barrier Reef, he ran ashore on one of its submc-ged ledges, and it. was only by the great-est-piece f luck, that ho ; was able to escape from such dangerou.. ■' waters. Other explorers of the early days were not so fortunate, and the Great • Barrier Beef of Australia was the cause of several tragedies of.the^sea. Today, however, the dread of the gigantic coral reef has abated. The mazes of the reef have been sounded, measured; and charted; safe routes are . aconed, and vessels may traverse the danger zone without fear of mishap. The'area between the Outer Barrier and the mainland,. the spac ■ varying from '20 to 80 miles in breadth, is a region of comparatively calm water. An inner narrow zone, free' from coral; is the coastal highway, but the < outer belt contains innumerable reefs. No one ventures into these uncharted and ■intricate waterways except \ a few hardy fishermen, all other navigation keeping to the well defined inner route. Between the river and outer zones stretches a .string, of'lofty' islands, soino well wooded and watered. BUILDING OP THE REEFS. The builder of this extensive reef is, to-expr-ss ,it simply, a-'litth lump of animated jelly; often termed the coral;insect,?' but more properly called a polyp. The creature varies from the size of a man's hand to that of a pin's head, and.is almost exactly like a sea-anemone. . Corresponding to: the petals of a flower are a-circle of waving .arms, and in their centre is the stomach. As animalculae float past and touch the polyp they are secured with tiny poison darts. "When a hit is scored the victim, is stung to death and in falling is caught by, the waving arms and .pushed into the centre of the disc, where the stomach opens and swallows the prey whole. The lime found in the food is deposited around, the polyp, and just as the human body uses lime :to make its bones,' so the polyp forms the coral rock. A branch of dry coral appears as abdicate fabric of whi|; stone pitted over with cells; and on magnification each cell is seen to have a series b7. adial partitions. When the coral 'was alive- a polyp'sat in each; of these cells, and the partitions are the imprints made by its soft body. When the coral .was alive a thin membrane extended from one cell to the next, so that caeh'-in-diyidual, though capable of a. separate life,.was one flesh with the.whole colony. When alive the coral would be ■ coloured, /frequently brown, but some- 1 times with vivid hues of red, yellow green,. or; blue. V. „ . . . '. WHERE CORAL GROWS. Two conditions arc particularly required for. the 'existence of reef-build-ing corals. In the first;place the sea-' water must be -pure; especially must if be free from mud; and in the second place it „ must bo very warm Though corals predominate in the upbuilding of a coral reef, a largo share in the .work is contributed, by other things, such as shells, f oraminif era, and seaweeds. ... , FORMATION OF ATOLLS. The formation of .the low coral islands or-atolls has given rise to long controversy -and to, various and complicated explanations; In some cases coral has grown upon a sunken island, but a recent theory holds that these more or less imperfect atolls have grown up fronv the even floor of the lagoon channel a.nd .that they are moulded to their present form by the prevailing winds. .But scientists differ on this subject, ■ and much interest is being taken in the bore; that is being put down in- order to investigate the" deeper structure of the reef. ... „-. ■ .i ■ LIFE IBT THE CORAL. .. Life in the coral reef is amazingly wonderful.. Brown predominates in the colour of the submarine landscape, but there-are brilliant touches of orange blue, red, and green. Through coral' groves of diversified shape swim fish of quaint form and as brightly coloured as butterflies. : Here' and there . perch sea-urchins with long. spines like knitting-needles or with short ones like pencils. • Star-fish, some blue as the sky; beche-de-mer, some 1 black as ink like gigantic slugs, are scattered' about-* great clams'with jaws a yard across gape for the.unwary: Truly life in a coral reef is one never-ending series of wonders. ECONOMIC WEALTH. The Barrier Reef is the home of many industries which may under good management attain in the future to large and important dimensions. In addition to a seemingly inexhaustible supply of food fishes, there is tho pearl shell, which has been the foundation of a lucrative business for many years. Over one thousand men are employed in it, anci the year's crop of shell often . exceeds 1000 tons. '■ A minor iudustry of recent development is the gathering of trochus shell. These are bagged and exported to Japan, subsequently to return as pearl-shell shirt buttons. Another important industry is the catchmg and preparing, for the Chinese market, of the beehe-de-nier, a sea slug shaped like a cucumber and about one foot in length. Although when prepared and dried for'tho market they look like scraps of old leather, they are said to make an excellent basis for soup. The turtle also supplies a savoury soup, and its shell is of considerable commercial value. Tho egg of the turtle, which is buried in tho sand to be hatched by the heat of the sun, has the peculiarity that it can never be boiled_ hard. Meat from the dudong, a marine mammal as largo as a cow, is considered to be nearly as good as pork, but it is too rare to be of much commercial use. Dugong oil has' been recommended for lung complaints. \ A LONELY REGION. The mainland beaches that face the Barrier Reef are at present vacant, but may in the future be utilised for coconut plantations., The northern end of

the reef faces one of the most lonely spots in the world; there are hundreds of miles without any settlement whatever. Some day the fine scenery .and healthy climate will attract people; no more delightful place for a yrchting cruise could be imagined^ and no more interesting-hunting ground for the naturalist and scientist, both the fauna and flora being of the greates' interest, as well as the geological formation. .