Entwined histories: photography and tourism at the Great Barrier Reef

Entwined histories: photography and tourism at the Great Barrier Reef

Reef images have developed through a number of technological advances, and Reef and photographic histories are intertwined. The history of tourism on the Great Barrier Reef is documented in a vast array of images including many photographs. A content and semiotic analysis of these images, together with other archival sources has been used to identify change in visitor experiences of the Reef over time (Pocock 2002a). This analysis suggests that the physical environments that surround tourist facilities of Reef islands have been transformed to meet the imaginary Pacific ideal realised in many resorts today. This transformation is fuelled not only by the tourism industry, but through the collective historical imagination of colonial Australians. Beyond the islands, visitor experiences of the Reef are strongly influenced by the visual imagery of aerial photography and underwater cameras. This chapter explores a history of these photographic images.

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