Fraser Island Goes The Way Of Ayers Rock As Indigenous Community Urges Name Change

A CONTROVERSY is looming over a push by the Fraser Island Aboriginal community to have the tourism hotspot returned to its traditional name, K’gari.

The Butchulla/Badtjala people want the World Heritage-listed island to be renamed, replicating the change that turned Ayers Rock into Uluru.

But the move has divided island residents and tourism operators, with some fearing the island’s international recognition could be lost.

The State Government has confirmed it is considering a proposal for dual naming of the island, with Fraser to remain its primary name.

The Butchulla people want K’gari  which means “paradise” and is pronounced Gaarri  to come first. They have been supported by the Fraser Island Defenders Organisation and various advisory committees.

But Fraser Island Residents Association president David Anderson said he did not see the value in changing the name.

Europeans named it Fraser Island in honour of Eliza Fraser, who was shipwrecked there in 1836 and claimed she was held captive by Aborigines.

However, Butchulla elder Malcolm Burns, 61, co-chair of the island’s indigenous advisory committee, said Aborigines had saved Eliza Fraser, and she was  a liar who did not deserve remembrance.

“What would you rather? An island named after a liar, or an island named after paradise?” Mr Burns said.

Eliza’s story, which inspired painter Sidney Nolan and author Patrick White, highlights the conflict between white and black history.

Eliza was beached with her husband, Captain James Fraser, and crew after their ship, the Stirling Castle, sank en route to Singapore.

She was taken in by Aboriginal women, stripped and painted, forced to nurse the children, dig for roots and source honey, and witnessed the spearing death of her husband.

When she was eventually rescued, Eliza went on to embellish her story to English audiences before lapsing into obscurity.

“To us she was a liar,” Mr Burns said. “She said our ancestors were cannibals and treated her inhumanely. But they helped her, they saved her … because she couldn’t handle the harsh environment.

“When she went to England, she conned the aristocracy and made a fortune telling her lies.”

Fraser Coast Regional Council Mayor Mick Kruger said he understood the argument for K’gari but said “it’s known as Fraser Island all over the world”.

But anthropologist Dr Annie Ross, a cultural adviser on the island’s scientific advisory committee, supports the change.

“When Europeans name something and take away the traditional name, it disempowers the traditional people, it takes away all the knowledge associated with that name and place,” Dr Ross said.

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