Eliza Fraser
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Eliza Fraser was a Scottish woman whose ship was shipwrecked on the coast of Queensland, Australia, on May 22, 1836, and who was captured by Aborigines. Fraser Island is named after her.
She was the wife of Captain Fraser, the captain of the ship Stirling Castle. There were 18 people aboard the ship. They struck a reef which was hundreds of kilometres north of Fraser Island. They then launched a boat and landed at Waddy Point on Fraser Island. It was here that she was captured by Aborigines and her husband was killed (either from starvation or was killed by an Aborigine because he was unable to carry wood). They were stripped of their clothing.
She was found by John Graham, an escaped convict who had lived for six years with the Aborigines, and is said to have gone naked to get the confidence of the Aborigines. Eliza later married another sea captain and went back to England. A sensationalised account of the incident was sold in London.
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[edit] Fiction
In 1973, Patrick White wrote a fictionalised account of the incident in A Fringe of Leaves. Other writers to have written her story include André Brink and Michael Ondaatje. Sidney Nolan painted a wide range of personal interpretations of historical and legendary figues, including Eliza Fraser.
[edit] Film
In 1976, a comedy film was made about her called "Eliza Fraser" (or sometimes known as "The Adventures of Eliza Fraser") Susannah York played her. It was the first Australian film with a seven figure budget, costing $1.2 million to make. Eliza Fraser at the Internet Movie Database
