In 1969, an Australian pilot leased a coral island left barren by guano mining; he flew in drums of water for early plantings, helping begin a 50-year ecological recovery

In 1969, when pilot Don Adams set foot on Lady Elliot Island for the first time, he saw very little of the tropical paradise visitors know today. The coral cay at the southern tip of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef had been stripped almost bare after over a decade of mining in the late 19th century.

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