Fraser Island Restored to Aboriginal Name K’Gari

The world’s largest sand island is the latest destination to have its Aboriginal name restored. Fraser Island will be renamed K’gari. 

The Queensland government is finalising the name change to the World Heritage island off the state’s southeast.

K’Gari, pronounced “Gurri”, means paradise. The Butchulla people have always called the island K’Gari, which derived from its Dreamtime creation story. 

The Environment Minister Meghan Scanlon said, “what a lot of people don’t realise is the term ‘Fraser island’ is really quite offensive to a lot of traditional owners [...] for many years they have been advocating for this name change, so it was a significant moment.”

The World Heritage Committee has signed off the renaming, and the state government is currently finalising the paperwork. A naming ceremony was also held on the island last Sunday.

Ms Scanlon also said that “For many years they have been advocating for this name change, so it was a significant moment.”

The general manager of Butchella Aboriginal Corporation, Veronica Bird, has been campaigning for this move for nearly three decades. Bird said, “K’Gari means paradise, and it absolutely is paradise.”

The Fraser Island name was a tribute to Eliza Fraser, a shipwrecked woman on the island in 1836. After her rescue, Ms Fraser created a narrative about her treatment which led to the massacre of the Butchella people. 

“I hope the broader community will embrace the name change as much as the Butchella people and oir many supporters and friends,” Bird says. 

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