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08/07/2004: "SHIPWRECK .......... Steamship Cooma at North Reef, QLD"
The removal of the Cooma bronze propellor would become in time 'the greatest single man-made disaster to tourism anywhere on the entire Great Barrier Reef.
The big 'prop' was in the surf surge zone at North Reef, within view of the lighthouse. It would have been a hazardeous and at times impossible dive. But what a magnificent one. Heron Island is within range with a fast boat.
With a wide angle lens the pictures would have been absolutely stunning and could have been published internationally for decades.
Maybe limiting the tourism kiss of death saved other marine assets? But either way, the theft of the big propeller was a photographic and travel tragedy.
The brass "M" from Cooma name plate was hidden amongst a tangle of wires and twisted brass long since melted down and recycled.
A few divers had swam on the site, already. But it was an expensive boat trip out there from Gladstone. North Reef is about 80 km from the nearest township on the mainland.
Serious wreck hunting in this era was all about explosives and 'salvaging the loose material' traded for cash to scrap metal dealers.
So the new question is:What are divers doing today, in their ignorance, that will be so terrible in 2044?
