Frank William Moorhouse

[1] In 1928, Moorhouse was selected as the University's representative on the Great Barrier Reef Expedition led by Maurice Yonge.

[6] In the 1930s, Moorhouse worked as a marine biologist for the Queensland government and the Great Barrier Reef Committee,[7] studying the commercial potential of trochus,[8] sponges and beche de mer.

From 1930-1931, Moorhouse undertook research on Mer (Murray Island) and made a number of films, documenting residents' daily lives and events.

[9][failed verification] He left his government position and started a business from Low Island, collecting trochus shells for sale and farming sponges.

This enterprise was disrupted by the 1935 cyclone which swamped the island, and a theft of his stock by fishermen further discouraged his plans.

[3] Moorhouse took a position as a marine biologist with the federal government in 1935, and in 1936 was appointed chief inspector of the Fisheries and Game Department in South Australia.