Debate rages over push to change name of Fraser Island

Thousands of people have weighed in across social media as debate rages over the push to officially change the name of Fraser Island to K’gari. Vote in the poll.

Thousands of comments, hundreds of votes and two very different opinions.

Since the Queensland State Government announced it would open public consultation with a view to officially renaming Fraser Island, people across the state have weighed in on the subject and two very different lines of thinking have emerged.

In one camp: those who believe Fraser Island needs no name change, that we can acknowledge its history and the name bestowed upon it by its traditional owners – K’gari – without making the name change official.

In the second camp, it’s not just desirable to call the island by the name the Butchulla people have called it for millennia- the existing name is offensive, named for Eliza Fraser, who told damaging lies about the nation’s indigenous people.

Fraser Island.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said consultation followed the island’s world heritage area being renamed K’gari in 2021.

“K’gari means paradise in the Butchulla language and as a popular destination for its natural beauty, is a much more fitting name for such an iconic place,” Ms Scanlon said.

“The name Fraser Island is culturally inappropriate – it is a tribute to Eliza Fraser, a woman whose narrative directly led to the massacre and dispossession of the Butchulla people.”

Butchulla people support push to rename Fraser Island

Public consultation began earlier i August 2022, with the island’s traditional owners, the Butchulla people, throwing their support behind the endeavour.

But a poll on the CourierMail website, in which more than 1700 votes had been cast, indicated not everyone was supportive, with about 77 per cent of those who took part voting ‘no’ to the name change.

A viral post on the Fraser Coast Chronicle’s Facebook page regarding the proposed name change had received more than 3700 reactions, 6000 comments and reached almost 800,000 people by Wednesday, August 10.

“It doesn't really matter, it has been known as Fraser Island internationally for a long time,” Nataveen Reed wrote in one comment.

Tina Chalmers said it wasn’t really a ‘renaming,’ as K’gari was the island’s real name and had been for thousands of years.

“Not sure why we are having this debate,” Sez Collins wrote.

“Always was. Always will be. K’gari.”

But Bruce Taylor thought people needed to “stop dwelling on the past”.

“The past is being used as an excuse for inaction on the issues of today,” he wrote.

Earlier this month, Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation director Christine Royan said K’gari’s story was the Butchulla people’s Dreaming story.

“The story of K’gari is the story of our creation,” she said.

“Having K’gari reinstated means that we are returning our story back to where it belongs – to its home.”