Half a century ago, the Great Barrier Reef was to be drilled for oil. It was saved – for a time
- Written by Rohan Lloyd, Lecturer in Science and Society, James Cook University
Peter Harrison/GettyAt the end of the 1960s, there was every expectation the Great Barrier Reef would be drilled for oil.
The first gas well had been drilled in Victoria’s Bass Strait in 1965 and oil was discovered soon afterwards. Queensland wanted to follow suit. In 1967, the state’s entire coastline was opened to oil exploration.
In...
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