Fraser Island reclaims K'gari name, boots colonial heritage
Queensland's Fraser Island has officially reclaimed its traditional name of K'gari, renouncing the title it held for some 180 years.
After Captain James Fraser and his wife Eliza became shipwrecked on coastline back in 1836, the spot was named after the explorer, who was later believed to have been killed by the local Indigenous inhabitants.
The push to revert the island's name back to its original title - meaning paradise in the local Butchulla language - had ramped up in recent years and follows the renaming of a number of Aussie destinations formally named after British colonial figures.
READ MORE: 'A brighter future': Melbourne council renamed, ending slavery ties
Queensland's Fraser Island has officially reclaimed its traditional name of K'gari. Getty
K'gari, as it will now be known, is the world's largest sand island, spanning 123 kilometres along the south coast of Queensland and located about 250 kilometres from the state's capital of Brisbane.
A ceremony held today to commemorate the occasion was attended by hundreds of locals, traditional owners and government officials.
The renaming comes over a decade after the Bligh government added K'gari as an alternative name for spot and two years after the name of the Fraser Island World Heritage Area was reverted.
Famous for its pristine stretches of coastline and its large native population of dingoes, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the island every year.
READ MORE: Ben Boyd National Park in NSW to be renamed over links to slavery
Famous for its pristine stretches of coastline and its large native population of dingoes, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the island every year. Robert Rough
It had been known as Sandy Island by early European settlers, before it was renamed Fraser Island after Captain Fraser.
Fraser, alongside his wife Eliza, became shipwrecked on the island during a foiled attempt to sail to Singapore.
Their ship was believed to have struck coral along the Great Barrier Reef, forcing the duo to make their way to shore on a lifeboat.
Eliza, heavily pregnant at the time, gave birth during the voyage, but the baby drowned as the lifeboat took on water.
Fraser is believed to have been speared by the local inhabitants, leaving Eliza stranded on the island and taken captive, until she was later found by a convict living in the bush.
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
