Iconic Fraser Island Now Called K’gari: Australia Corrects “Historic Error” | Abroad

K’gari (pronounced khurrie) was originally known to Europeans as Great Sandy Island before being changed to Fraser Island after the Scottish Eliza Fraser was shipwrecked there in the 1830s.

But that name was deemed culturally inappropriate, because after the shipwreck Fraser wrote a negative story about her “imprisonment” by the Butchulla people. She portrayed them as “savages” and “cannibals”, and although her claims were contradicted by fellow survivors, the slander spread like wildfire through the English colony.

The world’s largest sand island, home to half of the world’s freshwater dune lakes and famous for its dingo population, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. They will therefore encounter the new name from now on.

The decision to restore the island’s native name follows a decades-long campaign by the original inhabitants. Gayle Minniecon, chairman of the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation, says in the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’ that the name change corrects a historical mistake. “It was through disrespect for the Butchulla people that the name of K’gari – home of our people – was taken from the island.”

For the Butchulla people, K’gari is connected to the creation story of the special island. K’gari was the spirit princess who helped create the island, fell in love with it and decided to stay there forever. According to that story, the island’s lakes were created so that the princess could see the sky, dense flora was created to clothe her, and animals were born to keep her company. Yindingie, the creator spirit, then created the Butchulla people to protect paradise.

The name became official with a ceremony on Wednesday. “I am proud that we are restoring the name that has been used by the original inhabitants over the years,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. “While steps like this cannot change the mistakes of the past, it is a big step towards a future where we value, trust and respect each other.”

It is not the first time that Australia has given a place back its Aboriginal name. Last year, about 65 percent of all place names in Australia had returned to their original names. The most famous example is the large red rock in the heart of the country: for a long time it was called Ayers Rock, named after a British bureaucrat in 1873. In 1993 the original Uluru was added, a word from the local Pitjantjatjara language. The names have existed side by side for a long time: Uluru only became the official name in 2020.