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| CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS - Great Barrier Reef, coral reefs. | ||
| Please note: The books are listed for interest only,
and not offered for sale.
There have been hundreds of books written on Australia's Great barrier Reef, and even more to come no doubt. This listing does not lim to be an all inclusive list on this, one of the great wonders of the world, and a fantastic dive region. These are just a few of the better, old, books that I have my m y collection. Viewers are most welcome to add their own. |
| No Image. | A YEAR ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
A Story of Corals and of the Greatest of Their Creations. C.M.Yonge. First published November 1930 by Putnam, London and New York. Reprint March 1931. Hardcover, 246 pages, mono photographs, maps, index. The author was the leader of an expedition to the Great Barrier Reef in 1928-29. I am not sure how valuable is the information provided in view of more recent works on the amrine life of the Great barrier Reef. The turtle cannery on Heron island is described in some detail. A dozen or so shipwrecks are listed in brief detail, including the Quetta, Cooma and Yongala. |
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AUSTRALIA'S GREAT BARRIER REEF.
A Handbook on the Corals, Shells, Crabs, Larger Animals and Birds, with some remarks on the Reef's place in History. Vincent Serventy. First published 1955, by Georgian House, Melbourne, in assocition with Phoenix House, Limited, London. A small book, hardcoverm dustjacket, 87 pages, mono photographs. Wouldn't it be nice to think tht the Great Barrier Reef could remain the way it was fifty yars ago when the author, a mrine naturalist, first observed it. His final chap[ter is called 'Tourist and Reef'; I am sure Dr. Serventy would not have imagined the tourist development that has occurred over the past twenty years. So far we have kept the oil rigs away. But for how long? [ps] |
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BARRIER REEF DAYS
William Hatfield. Oxford Univerisity Press, Melbourne First published 1948, reprint 1949. Hardcover, probably no dust jacket, 224 pages, a few mono line drawings. This is a story of life on the Barrier Reef, but not having read it as yet (only skipped through) I am not sure if it is factual. I think it is from the style of the writing. [ps] |
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CORAL REEFS - NATURE'S RICHEST REALM
Roger Steene. Crawfod House Press, Bathurst, Australia. 1990. ISBN 1 86333 009 7. Hardcover, dust jacket, 336p, large format, gloss art paper, full colour. One of the finest books on life in the coral seas. Shot on the Great Barrier Reef, the Red Sea, Indian and Pacific Ocean islands and reefs, it features Steene's superb photography. The text is brief but valuable. The book is now out of print and will no doubt become a collectors item. The finest photographic book of marine animals and the sea produced by an Australian publisher, by an Australian photographer. [ps] |
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CORALS OF AUSTRALIA AND THE INDO-PACIFIC
J.E.N.Veron. Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1986. ISBN 0 207 15116 4. Hardcover, dustjacket, A4 size, massive 644 pages, full colour throughout, diustribution charts, index. There is no finer book on the subject. Once again, when the book sold out the publishers did not bother to reprint inspite of the continuing demand. This resulted in a three-volume set CORALS OF THE WORLD being published by the CSIRO, containing of course a great deal more information, but at a commensurate cost. The single volume book was ideal for Australian waters and is in great demand. [ps] |
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FISHES OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF AND CORAL SEA.
The Complete Divcers' and Fishermen's Guide. John E. Randall. Gerald R.Allen, Roger C.Steene. Crawford House Press, Bathurst. Published in the USA by University fo Hawaii Press, 1990. ISBN 1 86333 012 7. Hardcover, dustjacket, A4 size, 506 pages. A superb book, generally with three or four photographs per page. Second edition, Revised and Expanded, 1997. Crawford House Publishing, Bathurst. ISBN 1 86333 140 9. Hardcover, dustjacket, A4 size, 556 pages - fifty more than first edition. A superb book, generally with three or four photographs per page. Generally regarded as the bible for divers. Top is first edition. [ps] |
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Reader's Digest Book of the
GREAT BARRIER REEF Reader's Digest, Sydney, 1984. ISBN 0 949819 41 7. Hardcover, dustjacket, large square format 365 x 265 mm, 384 pages, full colour throughout, index. An excellent comprehensive book on the Great barrier Reef, its formation, corals, marine life, recreational and scientific use. Although the subject matter is diverse, this is perhaps the best book that covers "The Reef". [ps] |
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GREAT BARRIER REEF
And Some Mention of Other Australian Coral Reefs. William J. Dakin Australian National Publicity Association, Melbourne 1950. Hardcover, dust jackt, 134 pages, mono prints, index. One of the true classic book on the natural sciences by the father of marine biology. It is also interesting to rad of the mny islands hat were, in the days of Dakin, free of tourists and the ghastly resorts that go with them. Here is Heron, and Hayman, and Lindemann and Dunk islands at their best From the fly: This story concerns the wonder and beauty of the greatest coral region of the seven seas. As the author so aptly writes, "The words 'coral' and 'coral islands' have generally called up visions of romance and one can remember how they not only formed the background of many stories of boyhood, but made at least one best-seller of recent times. To scientists of the last hundred years they have, however, been magnets of great attractive power. They have provided the most fascinating problems for the marine biologist.". For the late William .J. Dakin, D.Sc., Emeritus Professor of Zoology, University of Sydney, the amazing Great Barrier Reef region, the scattered green atolls of the tropic seas and other coral regions, such as the Abrolhos Islands of the West, constituted allure and a life-long delight. His life-work concluded with the writing of this volume - a brilliant effort to make known, to every visitor and to those who cannot travel, the unique geogaaphical feature of the Australian continent. [ps] |
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ON THE BARRIER REEF.
Notes From a No-ologist's Pocket Book. S.Elliott Napier. Published in 1929 by Angus and Robertson, Sydney. Hardcover, 194 pages, mono photographs. Quite an important historry as it covers early explotation of the reef as well as a description of a number of islands and the marione and land animals. [ps] |
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THE GREAT BARRIER REEF.
Isobel Bennett. First published by lansdowne Press, Melbourne, 1971. Hardcover, large format, dust jacket, 183 pages, full colour and mono photographs throughout. I personally regard this is still the best book on the GBR - informative and thorough, well written, with fine photographs. As would be expected, covers the formation of the coral reefs, the reef-building animals, the animals that inhabit the reef system, fringing reefs and inshore islands. A great book, dedicated respectfully by the author to the memory o Professor William John Dakin, Challis Professor of Zoology, Univeristy of Sydney, 1928-1948, "who guided my first footsteps as a marine biologist". The author also wrote the acclaimed, 'The Fringe of the Sea', in 1966. [ps] |
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THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Allan Power. Published by Paul Hamlyn Pty Ltd, Sydney, in 1969. Hardcover, large format, dust jacket, 144 pages, full colour. Few people realise that the author, a well-known dive operator in Espiritu Santo (wreck of the SS Prsident Coolidge) was once an accomplished underwater photographer, one of the first in Australia. This book is the first that Paul Hamlyn published, a great fouindation for a remarkable publishing company. The book went through many reprints and is still provides vluable knowledge to this day. [ps] |
| No cover available. | THE ROMANCE OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Frank Reid. With illustrations by Geoffrey C. Ingleton. Puboished by Angus & Robertson, Sydney and LKondon, 1954. Hardcover, 191 pages, mono illustrations, no index. An excellent narative of the GBR, covering (chapters) Early Visitors, Cook's Voyage Inside the Reef, Remarkable Open-Boat Voyages, Adventurous Navigators, The Islasnd of Skulls, White Women Amongst the Savages etc etc. Includes mention of the colourful Green Island hermit George Lawson, known as Yorkie (thus the suburb Yorkie's Knob). A much under-rated book on the finest reef system in the world. |
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UNDER THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Richard Lurie. First published in 1966, Jarrold Publishers (london) Ltd. Hardcover, dust jacket, 191 pages. A biography by an Englishman diving the Great Barrier Reef in the 1960s. He certainly covers a lot of ground. Part travel documentary, part marine observation, part personal observation and opinion, it is of limited historic interest except for the occasional annecdote. |
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WONDERS OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF.
T.C.Roughley. First published in 1936 by Angus and Robertson, Sydney and London. Hardcover, 280 pages, colour and mono plates. This is the classic book on the Great Barrier Reef, within many reprints since. It gives an early aspect of how the reef was perceived and used commercially, with little thought to tourism at the time. The chapter Wealth from the Reef gives you an idea of how the marine life could have been exploited. E book gives an excellent description of the marine life - the corals, fishes, mammals and invertebrates. Still an important work. [ps] |
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