The world’s largest sand island has had several names throughout its history. The original and current one, K’gari, means “paradise” in the language of the island’s traditional owners, the Butchulla people. An apt name for a place home to pristine perched freshwater lakes and rainforests that spring from the sand like magic. Although K’gari was officially recognised as the island’s name in 2023, many still refer to it as Fraser Island.
Bond University associate professor Daryl McPhee, who has spent time researching K’gari for his recently released book Environmental History and Ecology of Noosa and the K’gari, says the name Fraser Island can be traced back to 1836, when a British ship the Stirling Castle hit a reef in the Swains Reef complex and sank. The vessel, which had just completed a “beer run” to Hobart and was on its way back to London, was captained by James Fraser, “an accident prone English mariner” who had previously lost another ship in similar circumstances. Dr McPhee says Captain Fraser had a reputation for being incompetent and difficult to work with, so much so that, on reaching Hobart, some of his men refused to return to his ship. “Half the crew decided it was better to stay in Hobart with nothing than to return to England on the boat,” Dr McPhee says.
Also on board the Stirling Castle was Captain Fraser’s wife, Eliza. Dr McPhee says at the time it was unusual for a woman to accompany her husband on a voyage. However, Eliza had been permitted to join the Captain on his journey to Australia as he was reportedly feeling unwell and required someone to care for him.
When the Stirling Castle sank, Captain Fraser, Eliza, and the other survivors boarded two lifeboats – a pinnace and a longboat – and began heading south in the hope of reaching the Moreton Bay penal colony in Redcliffe. “The two lifeboats became separated when the crew of the faster pinnace, after a disagreement with Captain Fraser, decided to head south on their own,” Dr McPhee writes in his book. “The pinnace ended up in northern NSW (Macleay River), bypassing its desired destination, which was Moreton Bay. The longboat came ashore at what is now known as Orchid Beach on K’gari, with 12 people on board, including the Captain Fraser and his wife.”
Dr McPhee says before the longboat reached K’gari Eliza gave birth to a child. “That would have been a very traumatic experience just physically,” he says. “But also giving birth as a woman in those times with men on board – it would have been even more traumatic.” The child died shortly after it was born, possibly of drowning.
After the crew of the longboat landed on K’gari, they attempted to repair their vessel which had sustained damage during the journey. Although some repairs were successful, the crew was unable to launch the longboat due to poor weather conditions, so the group decided to head south – towards Moreton Bay – on foot. Dr McPhee says it was at this point that some accounts allege the crew of the Stirling Castle were “captured and tortured” by the Butchulla people. However, Dr McPhee says he believes the crew were actually “taken for their own good – to be looked after”.
“As tradition, they were treated as equals,” Dr McPhee says. “So, they were actually put to work, which Eliza Fraser in particular resented because she thought that Black people should be servants and that she shouldn’t have to be doing any work with them.”
Dr McPhee says some of the Butchulla people’s healing techniques were also misinterpreted. “Fire sticks were applied to people’s wounds not to torture them, but as treatment to seal the wounds,” he says.
Captain Fraser ultimately died on K’gari, although the circumstances surrounding his death remain unknown. Some accounts say he died of starvation, while others say he was murdered by the Butchulla people. Eliza claimed she witnessed the Butchulla people spear her husband to death, but Dr McPhee says that would have been impossible given where she was at the time. “She couldn’t have seen him murdered because she was in woman’s country with the women and he was on men’s country with the men,” Dr McPhee says.
Eliza was marooned on K’gari for seven weeks. She was eventually “rescued” by convict John Graham and taken to the Moreton Bay settlement where she stayed for about two months before moving to Sydney. Dr McPhee writes that Eliza “was in poor physical and most likely mental health” during this time. While she was in Moreton Bay and, later, Sydney, Eliza’s story attracted significant media attention. By the time she returned to London, Eliza had significantly embellished her tale to include claims that the Butchulla people were “savages” and “cannibals” who had purposefully mistreated her.
Dr McPhee says these claims, which benefited Eliza financially, had devastating impacts on Australia’s First Nations people. “The early narratives surrounding Eliza Fraser’s captivity enhanced the existing colonial narratives surrounding the savagery of the Indigenous people and the need to control them,” he writes. “Her story did not lead to the colonial thinking behind the Indigenous massacres and the dispossession of land that did occur, but it may have added a justification for them occurring and possibly a catalysation for enhanced brutality and urgency, particularly within the southern Queensland region.”
K’gari’s changing names: a timeline – click to view
The name Fraser Island, with all its historical baggage, was only officially dropped in June 2023 after decades of campaigning by the Butchulla people to have the traditional name restored. Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation chair Gayle Minniecon said in a statement at the time she celebrated the Queensland Government’s decision to formally recognise K’gari. “It was through disrespect to the Butchulla people that her name, K’gari – the home of the Butchulla people – was taken away,” Ms Minniecon said. “Thankfully it is now through respect to the Butchulla people that K’gari – her name – has been reclaimed.”
In the Butchulla people’s creation story, K’gari is the white spirit who assisted in making the island and its surrounding waters. Ms Minniecon said the recognition meant the Butchulla tradition would receive the attention it deserves. “Our oral history, our creation story will now be told and learnt as it should be,” she said.
However, almost two years on from the name change, K’gari has yet to see widespread adoption. Fraser Coast Tourism and Events CEO Martin Simons says data from Google reveals that the majority of people still search for Fraser Island. “In the last 12 months [in Australia], 60,500 people a month searched ‘Fraser Island’ … less than 10,000 searched ‘K’gari’,” Mr Simons says. “Internationally, it’s about 110,000 people a month versus 18,000. So, it’s just not really gaining traction.”
Mr Simons says part of the problem is not enough work has been done to establish the K’gari brand. “When people search for holiday destinations, they don’t associate the name K’gari with holiday, they still associate that with Fraser Island,” he says. “It’s an extremely strong brand. If you say, ‘I come from Hervey Bay’ people say, ‘I’m not sure exactly where that is’. But if you say, ‘It’s just near Fraser Island’ they say, ‘Oh, I know exactly where that is!’.”
Mr Simons says there is also a lot of “white resistance” to using Indigenous placenames. Dr McPhee agrees and says he has received large amounts of criticism for publicly supporting K’gari’s name change. “Of all the things I get hate mail from, that’s the thing I get the most hate mail from,” Dr McPhee says. Dr McPhee also says he has observed a number of “racist rants” in the comment sections of his articles.
Mr Simons says the fact Fraser Island continues to be used in lieu of K’gari is frustrating. “We work very strongly with the Indigenous community, and they’re frustrated as well,” he says.
Ultimately, Mr Simons says the situation will only improve if the Queensland Government funds efforts to raise awareness about the updated name. “Because of the internet, people will continue to find Fraser, know Fraser, and search for it for a long time to come unless some real money gets behind to market that [K’gari] brand,” he says. “Until that happens, it’s very difficult to see K’gari gaining traction.”
