The Great Barrier Reef and its associated islands form one of Australia’s most neglected archaeological provinces. Only now can some of the most obvious parameters be described. Islands which evolved in Holocene times have been incorporated into local coastal Aboriginal economy yet also show evidence of having been visited by Torres Strait peoples. Islands which were inland hills during lower sea level Pleistocene times could have had a near continuous use by Aboriginal Australians since the continent was first colonized by them. Even this early approximation of the area’s prehistory suggests complex and varied adaptation to this peculiar habitat. This reconnaissance shows that there are highly varied archaeological remains. Other evidence, some of which comes from living Aborigines, attests to the importance of this complex habitat even to most recent times. The earliest human use of the area is not known, but much can be inferred.