The papers document many aspects of Isobel Bennett's career as a marine biologist, including her fieldwork, writings and participation in a number of scientific expeditions. They include correspondence, personal documents, biographical references, field notebooks, typescripts of most of her books, reviews and other cuttings, photographs, reprints, reports and other publications. Particular strengths of the collection are the records of her research on the coasts of eastern Australia, the Great Barrier Reef and Macquarie Island.