The naming of Muirhead Reef in memory of a distinguished Queensland cartographer was commemorated with a presentation to his family at Parliament House today.
Natural Resources Minister Stephen Robertson said the naming of this section of the Great Barrier Reef, located 170 kilometres off Proserpine, was in honour of the late Mr William Muirhead's long and distinguished career.
"Mr Muirhead began his career with the then Department of Public Lands in 1943 as a junior cartographer and quickly worked his way up the ranks to become principal cartographer," he said.
"Before his retirement in 1984, Mr Muirhead was chairman of the Queensland Place Names Board, which had the responsibility of recommending names for features and localities throughout the state.
"It is a pleasure to name a section of one of Queensland's greatest natural features after a man who contributed so much to naming places we take for granted, without always thinking why they have the names we use every day."
Mr Robertson today presented Mrs Lorna Muirhead, of Kenmore, and the couple's son Bruce with a framed map of Reef named after her husband, who died in 1996.
The naming of the Reef was undertaken following consultations with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Royal Australian Navy's Hydrographic Service.
Muirhead Reef was officially proclaimed in early 2001.
