In 1922 he founded, along with Queensland Governor Sir Matthew Nathan, the Great Barrier Reef Committee. This led to two deep boring projects through the Reef (in 1927 and 1937) to prove one of Charles Darwin's theories and to look for ways to exploit the economic potential of the Reef. The Committee's public relations ventures, in order to bring in more money for their research programmes, would also lead to a number of biological expeditions to the Reef, including the year long Low Isles Great Barrier Reef Expedition of 1928. This expedition brought in many biologists and geographers from around the world, and led to publication of research at the British Natural History Museum. The Committee's work would eventually lead to the establishment of the Heron Island Research Station, Australia's first coral reef marine biology research station.