Beneath the waters of the southern Great Barrier Reef lies a drowned world — ancient rivers, lakes, and coastal plains where First Nations people lived before the sea rose some seven thousand years ago. Australian researchers, sailing aboard the CSIRO vessel Investigator, have now mapped that submerged terrain in extraordinary detail, weaving together sediment science and Indigenous songlines in a collaboration co-designed with Darumbal and Woppaburra Traditional Owners. The work reminds us that the ocean does not erase history — it only submerges it, waiting for those with the right tools and