Fraser Coast Tourism and Events General Manager Martin Simons on changing Fraser Island to K’gari

The leader of the organisation responsible for marketing the Fraser Coast and its world-famous sand island to the masses has spoken out about the official Butchulla name change.

It will take time but the challenge of marketing the world-famous Fraser Island under a new name is one Fraser Coast Tourism and Events Manager Martin Simons is up for.

Asked about the difficulty in marketing a little-known name to those outside the region, particularly overseas once borders reopened, Mr Simons acknowledged that job wouldn’t be easy but likened it to the renaming of Ayers Rock to Uluru.

It comes after the World Heritage Area within Great Sandy National Park was officially declared K’gari which means ‘paradise’ in the language of the island’s tradition owners, the Butchulla people.

“It happened with Uluru, with the term of Ayers Rock, it took awhile for that to go through the process and it’s a great name for the island, it’s the traditional name,” Mr Simons said.

“There’s still a lot of brand equity overseas in Fraser Island so as a region, from a tourism point of view we need to understand that and work with that to make the transition.”

According to Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon, the new name covers the boundaries of the World Heritage area “centred on Fraser Island, waters surrounding the Island and parts of the mainland Fraser Coast”.

An official ceremony marking the moment was held on the island on Sunday as the Premier and Cabinet prepared to spend the week on the Fraser Coast mainland.

In celebrating the news the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation said in a statement the day marked ‘a historical step forward’.

“The is a major step towards permanently restoring the traditional name of our sacred island,” the statement read

“K’gari means paradise in Butchulla language - a much more fitting name for the largest sand island in the world.”

Mr Simons said it was up to individual local businesses and tourism operators to decide whether they would rebrand and use the name K’gari in there business signage and marketing but FCTE would call the island by its new name.

“We (FCTE) think the name fits well with the island and recognises its cultural links which is important,” he said.

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour was also contacted for comment about the potential implications for the Fraser Coast as a region, given the namesake is derived from the island, but he could not be reached.