Fraser Island

Fraser Island
Native name: K'gari

View from Indian Head, Fraser Island
Geography
Location Australia
Area 1,840 km2 (710 sq mi)
Highest elevation 244 m (801 ft)
Highest point Mount Bowarrady
Country
Australia
State  Queensland
LGA Fraser Coast Regional Council
Largest city Eurong
Demographics
Population 360 (as of 2006)
Density 0.2 /km2 (0.5 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups White Australians (349)

Fraser Island, is an island located along the southern coast of Queensland, Australia, approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) north of Brisbane. Its length is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) and its width is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi).[1] It was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992.[2] The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1840 km².[3] It is also Queensland's largest island and the largest island on the East Coast of Australia.

The island has rain forests, eucalyptus woodland, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on the volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment carried on a strong offshore current north along the coast. Unlike many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants.[4] Fraser Island is home to many mammal species, as well as a diverse range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including the occasional saltwater crocodile. The island is part of the Fraser Coast Regional Council and protected in the Great Sandy National Park.

Fraser Island has been inhabited by humans for as much as 5,000 years.[4] Explorer James Cook sailed by the island in May of 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the northern most point of the island in 1799. The island became known as Fraser due to the stories of a shipwreck survivor named Eliza Fraser. Today the island is a popular tourism destination. Its resident human population was 360 at the census of 2006.

Contents

Geography and ecology

Bodies of water

The beach at Lake McKenzie

Fraser Island has over 100 dune lakes, as well as the second highest concentration of lakes in Australia after Tasmania.[5] The freshwater lakes on Fraser Island are some of the cleanest lakes in the world.[4] A popular tourist area is Lake McKenzie which is located inland from the small town of Eurong. It is a "perched" lake sitting on top of compact sand and vegetable matter 100 metres above sea level. Lake McKenzie has an area of 150 hectares and is just over five metres in depth. The beach sand of Lake McKenzie is nearly pure silica. The lakes have very few nutrients and pH varies, though sunscreen and soaps are a problem as a form of pollution.

Eli Creek is the largest creek on the east coast of the island with a flow of 80 million litres per day.[5]

Beach

The 120 kilometres (75 mi) beach runs along most of the east coast of Fraser Island. It is used as a landing strip for planes and an informal highway for vehicles (highway rules state that vehicles must give way to aircraft if they are oncoming). Along the beach are the Champagne Pools, Indian Head, the Maheno Wreck and the outflow of Eli Creek. Eli Creek has its own unique and varied wild life. Tiger Sharks are known to inhabit the sea in the area.

Fauna

Mammals

Mammals found on Fraser Island include swamp wallabies, echidnas, ringtail and brushtail possums, sugar gliders, squirrel gliders, phascogales, bandicoots, flying foxes, humans and dingoes.

Dingoes

Fraser Island dingoes
NASA Landsat image of Fraser

Dingoes were once common on the island, but are now decreasing. The Fraser Island dingoes are reputedly some of the last remaining pure dingoes in Eastern Australia and to prevent cross-breeding, dogs are not allowed on the island. According to DNA-examinations from the year 2004, the dingoes on Fraser Island are "pure"[6]. However, skull measurements from the 1990s detected crossbreeds between dingoes and domestic dogs among the population.[7]

Up until 1995, there were no official records of dingoes attacking humans on Fraser Island. In April 2001, a boy wandered away from his family and was discovered dead, with indications of a dingo attack. Over 120 dingoes were killed by authorities as a result of the incident, though locals believe the number was much greater as sightings are now almost a non-occurrence.[8] As of January 2008, the number of dingoes on the island was estimated to be 120 to 150, and sightings have become less common.

Other

A few brumbies (horses) on the island are descendants of Arab stock turned loose for breeding purposes, and were joined in 1879 by horses brought over for the logging industry.[8][9]

Cetaceans, such as Humpback Whales and some species of dolphins are frequent visitors to the area. Dugongs can also be found.

Reptiles & amphibians

Goannas, snakes, geckos, skinks and frogs are all present on the island. Frog species have evolved to cope with the acidic waters of lakes and swamps on the island, and are appropriately called acid frogs.[9] The island is home to the recently discovered Fraser Island sand skink.

Saltwater crocodiles are exclusively tropical reptiles and usually found in far north Queensland (several hundred kilometers north-west of Fraser Island,) however, much to the surprise of locals, occasionally during the warmer season (December through March, when water temperatures reach consistent tropical temperatures) crocodiles do pop up in areas in and around Fraser Island. This is very rare, but during the 2008-2009 summer season at least four crocodiles (one over 4 metres in length) were present.[10] It is thought that these reptiles are seasonal visitors, as they always disappear during the cold months (presumably returning to tropical northern Queensland.) This sort of activity was apparently reported but unverified decades ago (a handful of crocodiles have also historically been observed on very rare occurrences around Brisbane and the Gold/Sunshine Coasts during the warmer season,) but within recent years has been proven and observed more often. Crocodiles do not breed nor do they appear to have any permanent populations living on Fraser Island.

Birds

There are over 350 different species of birds on the island. Birds of prey include sea eagles, peregrine falcon, osprey and kites. Other common birds include pelicans, terns, honeyeaters, gulls, kingfishers, kookaburra and cockatoos. A rare, endangered bird on the island is the ground parrot, already extinct in some parts of Australia.[8][9]

Administration

Fraser Island*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Fraser Island SPOT 1207.jpg
Fraser island seen from Spot Satellite
State Party  Australia
Type Natural
Criteria vii, viii, ix
Reference 630
Region** Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 1992  (16th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Fraser Island is part of the Local Government Area Fraser Coast Regional Council, which was created in March 2008 as a result of the report of the Local Government Reform Commission released in July 2007. Before the local government reorganization, the island was split up evenly between the City of Hervey Bay (northern part) and the City of Maryborough (southern part).

Fraser Island South is Local Area 8 of the City of Maryborough, and includes the existing village community of Eurong, the Kingfisher Bay Resort, and Dilli Village.[11]

Fraser Island includes the Great Sandy National Park, which is administered by Queensland's Environmental Protection Agency.

History of settlement

Name

The earliest known name of the island is 'K'gari' in the Butchulla people's language. It means paradise.[12]

According to Aboriginal legend, when humans were created and needed a place to live, the mighty god Beiral sent his messenger Yendingie with the goddess K’gari down from heaven to create the land and mountains, rivers and sea. K’gari fell in love with the earth’s beauty and did not want to leave it. So Yendingie changed her into a heavenly island – Fraser Island.[13]

The name Fraser Island comes from Eliza Fraser and her story of survival from a shipwreck on the island. Captain James Fraser and his wife, Eliza Fraser, were shipwrecked on the island in 1836. Their ship, the Stirling Castle, set sail from Sydney to Singapore with 18 crew and passengers. The ship was holed on coral while traveling through the Great Barrier Reef north of the island. Transferring to two lifeboats, the crew set a course south, attempting to reach the settlement at Moreton (now Brisbane). During this trip in the lifeboats, Captain Fraser's pregnant wife gave birth in the leaking lifeboat. The infant died soon after birth. The Captain's lifeboat was becoming more and more unseaworthy and was soon left behind by the other lifeboat which continued on. The sinking boat and its crew was beached on what was then known as the Great Sandy Island. Whether the survivors died due to disease, hunger, exhaustion or battles with the native population will never be known for sure; most likely a little of all of the above. Captain Fraser died leaving Eliza living among the local peoples. She was rescued 6 weeks after being shipwrecked by a convict who had lived in the bush as an escapee, and who spoke the Aboriginal language. He was sent from the settlement at Moreton by the authorities there who had heard about Eliza' plight, and negotiated her return. Within 6 months, Eliza had married another sea captain. She moved to England and became a sideshow attraction in Hyde Park telling ever more lurid tales about her experiences with white slavery, cannibalism, torture and murder. As she is known to have told several versions of the story, it is unknown which version is the most accurate.[14] [15] She was killed in a carriage accident in Melbourne in 1858 during a visit.[4]

Aboriginal Australians

Archaeological research and evidence shows that Aboriginal Australians occupied Fraser Island at least 5000 years ago. There was a permanent population of 400-600 that grew to 2000-3000 in the winter months due to abundant seafood resources. The arrival of European settlers in the area was an overwhelming disaster for the Butchulla people. European settlement in the 1840s overwhelmed the Aboriginal lifestyle with weapons, disease and lack of food.[12] By the year 1890, Aboriginal numbers had been reduced to only 300 people.[16] Most of the remaining Aborigines, the Butchulla tribe, left the island in 1904 as they were relocated to missions in Yarrabah and Durundur, Queensland.[17]

Europeans

Initial European contact was limited to explorers and shipwrecks. The first recorded European to sight Fraser Island was James Cook who passed along the coast of the island between 18 and 20 May 1770. He named Indian Head after viewing a number of Aboriginal people gathered on the headland. Matthew Flinders sailed past the island in 1799, and again in 1802, while charting Hervey Bay. His 1814 chart is a combination of both voyages, but did not confirm Fraser Island as being separate from the mainland. However, Flinders did suggest the presence of shallow swampy areas at the lower part of the bay. Flinders was told of an opening at Hook Point, between Fraser Island and the mainland, by two American whalers who were hunting whales in Hervey Bay.[18]

Logging and sand mining industry

Blackbutt trees (Eucalyptus pilularis) and kauri pines (Agathis robusta) on Fraser Island were logged extensively as they provided excellent timber[19][20]. Logging started in 1863, initiated by American Jack Piggott. Railway tracks were laid through the forest to facilitate logging, but were later removed. The logging industry continued right through until 1991, and ceased following the concerns of the Fraser Island Fitzgerald Inquiry, led by the Honourable Justice Gerald Edward Fitzgerald.

The geological wealth of the island lay in its rich deposits of rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monazite. Sand mining leases were first granted in 1950, and mining continued until 1977.[14]

A freshwater creek runs through rainforest near Central Station
The wreck of the S.S. Maheno on the beach near Eli Creek, September 2004

Wreck of the Maheno

A major landmark of Fraser Island is the shipwreck of the S.S. Maheno. The S.S. Maheno was originally built in 1905 in Scotland as a luxury passenger ship for trans-Tasman crossings. During the First World War the ship served as a hospital ship in the English Channel, before returning to a luxury liner. In 1935, the ship was declared outdated and on June 25, 1935 the ship was being towed from Melbourne when it was caught in a strong cyclone. A few days later, on July 9, 1935 she drifted ashore and was beached on Fraser Island. During the Second World War the Maheno served as target bombing practice for the RAAF and was used as an explosives demolition target by special forces from the Fraser Commando School. The ship has since become severely rusted, with almost three and a half storeys buried under the sand. Climbing on the shipwreck is not permitted.[21]

Fraser Commando School

During World War Two, the area near McKenzie's Jetty was used by the Services Reconnaissance Department (popularly known as "Z Special Unit") as a special forces training camp - the Fraser Commando School. Lake McKenzie was used for parachute training and the wreck of the Maheno was used for explosive demolitions practice.

Visitors to the site of the Fraser Commando School today can still see various relics of its military past including armour plates used to test armour piercing explosive charges and weapons and a concrete relief map of Singapore Harbour used as an aid in operations planning.

Nauru resettlement proposition

As part of ongoing meetings in the United Nations Trusteeship Council on the Conditions in the Trust Territories, the Republic of Nauru expressed concern that its phosphate mining exportation would be depleted by the end of the century, endangering the future of the island.[22][23] In 1961, Fraser Island was proposed by Australia as a location for the resettlement of the entire population of the Republic of Nauru. The timber industry on Fraser Island managed to ensure that resettlement on Fraser Island did not proceed.[24] In 1964 in the 31st session of United Nations Trusteeship Council meetings it was concluded that Curtis Island could provide a more satisfactory resettlement for the population of Nauru.[23] Nauru rejected the offer of moving the entire population to Curtis Island due to political independence considerations that Australia would not agree to.[22] Although a resettlement never did occur, the Republic of Nauru went on to achieve independence on January 31, 1968.

Tourism

The island can be reached by ferry from Hervey Bay or Inskip Point north of Rainbow Beach, or by chartered flight via Maroochydore Airport.[25] Four-wheel drive is required for some landings, and travel on the island. A RAM permit is required for vehicles. Several firms provide four-wheel drive vehicles for rent.[26] Tour buses travel the island as well. The Fraser Island Great Walk offers an opportunity to explore the island on foot.

Central Station is a popular tourism destination on the island. Some of the rarest ferns grow along the rainforest near the station. With year-round south-easterly wind, huge sand dunes on the island move at the rate of 1 – 2 meters a year and grow to a height of 244 meters. Sand is constantly washed ashore from as far as New South Wales.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (2008). "World Heritage: Fraser Island". Australia. http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/fraser/index.html. Retrieved 2008-01-14. 
  2. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2007). "Fraser Island". Australia. http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=630. Retrieved 2007-01-14. 
  3. ↑ Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (2008). "Fraser Island - World Heritage - more information". Australia. http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/fraser/information.html. Retrieved 2008-06-05. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 [hhttp://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/09/fraser-island/smith-text "Fraser Island"]. Places (The National Geographic Society). 2010-09-01. hhttp://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/09/fraser-island/smith-text. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 FraserIsland.net (2006). "Fraser Island Lakes and Creeks". http://www.fraserisland.net/pgsix.html. Retrieved 2007-01-02. 
  6. ↑ Jonica Newby: Last Of The Dingoes. ABC, 31. März 2005. Retrieved on 8. Mai 2009.
  7. ↑ P.F. Woodall, P. Pavlov, K.L. Twyford: Dingoes in Queensland, Australia: skull dimensions and the identity of wild canids. CSIRO Publishing, 1996. Retrieved on 8. Mai 2009.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 David Kidd (2005). "Fraser Island's wildlife". About Fraser Island. http://dkd.net/fraser/wildlife.html. Retrieved 2007-01-03. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 FraserIsland.net (2006). "Fraser Island Wildlife". http://www.fraserisland.net/pgseven.html. Retrieved 2007-01-06. 
  10. ↑ . http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24846505-5006786,00.html. 
  11. ↑ http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/council/documents/Local%20Area%208%20-%20Fraser%20Island%20South.pdf
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Fraser Island". World Heritage. Department of the Environment and Heritage. 2006. http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/fraser/index.html. Retrieved 2007-01-14. 
  13. ↑ "Global village website". http://www.sbs.com.au/globalvillage. Retrieved 2006-09-05. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 FraserIsland.net (2006). "Fraser Island European History". http://www.fraserisland.net/pgfour.html. Retrieved 2007-02-02. 
  15. ↑ "Queensland Shipwrecks, including Central AND Southern Great Barrier Reef". Queensland. The Encyclopedia of Australian Shipwrecks. http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/qld-main.html. Retrieved 2007-01-10. 
  16. ↑ Walk About Australian Travel Guide. "Fraser Island". Fairfax Digital. http://walkabout.com.au/locations/QLDFraserIsland.shtml. Retrieved 2007-02-02. 
  17. ↑ FraserIsland.net (2006). "Fraser Island Aboriginal History". http://www.fraserisland.net/pgthree.html. Retrieved 2007-01-14. 
  18. ↑ A Voyage to Terra Australis 1814
  19. ↑ "Great Sandy National Park - Nature, Culture and History". https://www.epa.qld.gov.au/parks_and_forests/find_a_park_or_forest/fraser_island_great_sandy_national_park/great_sandy_national_park__nature_culture_and_history.html. Retrieved 23 January 2010. 
  20. ↑ Huth, John; Peter Holzworth (unknown). "Araucariaceae in Queensland" (pdf). unknown. http://fennerschool-associated.anu.edu.au/environhist/links/publications/anzfh/anzfh2huth&hollzworth.pdf. Retrieved 23 January 2010. 
  21. ↑ Lachie Campbell and Gillan Gout (2003-06-12). "The Maheno - the story of a famous shipwreck". ABC Wide Bay Queensland. http://www.abc.net.au/widebay/stories/s877712.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-14. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Nauru Island". Asia and Oceania. Encyclopedia of the Nations. 2006. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Nauru-HISTORY.html. Retrieved 2007-02-11. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 republished by JSTOR "United Nations Trusteeship Council". International Organization (University of Wisconsin Press) 18 (4): 838–839. Autumn, 1964. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0020-8183%28196423%2918%3A4%3C828%3ATC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1 republished by JSTOR. Retrieved 2007-02-11. 
  24. ↑ "Fraser Island". Travel (The Sydney Morning Herald). 2004-02-08. http://www.smh.com.au/news/queensland/fraser-island/2005/02/17/1108500203325.html. Retrieved 2007-02-11. 
  25. ↑ FraserIsland.net (2006). "Fraser Island General Access". http://www.fraserisland.net/pg11.html. Retrieved 2007-01-02. 
  26. ↑ FraserIsland.net (2006). "Fraser Island 4WD and Permits". http://www.fraserisland.net/pgnine.html. Retrieved 2007-01-02. 

External links

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New South Wales

Australian Convict Sites1 · Gondwana Rainforests of Australia1 · Blue Mountains · Lord Howe Island Group · Sydney Opera House · Willandra Lakes Region
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Northern Territory
Queensland

Australian fossil mammal sites:1 Riversleigh · Fraser Island · Gondwana Rainforests of Australia1 · Great Barrier Reef · Wet Tropics of Queensland
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Australian fossil mammal sites:1 Naracoorte
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External territories

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