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Fraser Island - Hervey Bay

Fraser Island has an amazing history, from the Butchulla people (local aboriginal people) through to white man arriving in the late 1700's, the logging in the 1800's, World War 2 Training Camp, sand mining in the 1900's and finally to being World Heritage Listed in 1992. As well as the amazing beauty of Fraser Island from the rainforest growing out of sand, to the endless supply of fresh water pouring out to the ocean, to the world's purest breed of dingoes.

Stretching over 120 kilometers along the southern coast of Queensland, Fraser Island (184 000 hectares) is the largest sand island in the world. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in recognition of its outstanding natural universal values:

  • as an outstanding example representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes; and
  • as an example of superlative natural phenomena.
The island is a place of exceptional beauty, with its long uninterrupted white beaches flanked by strikingly coloured sand cliffs, its majestic tall rainforests and numerous freshwater lakes of crystal clear waters. The massive sand deposits that make up the island are a continuous record of climatic and sea level changes over the past 700 000 years.
Fraser Island features complex dune systems that are still evolving, and an array of dune lakes that is exceptional in its number, diversity and age. The highest dunes on the island reach up to 240 metres above sea level. Forty perched dune lakes, half the number of such lakes in the world, can be found on the island. These lakes are formed when organic matter, such as leaves, bark and dead plants, gradually build up and harden in depressions created by the wind.

The island also has several barrage lakes, formed when moving sand dunes block a watercourse, and 'window' lakes, formed when a depression exposes part of the regional water table. A surprising variety of vegetation types grow on the island, ranging from coastal heath to subtropical rainforests. It is the only place in the world where tall rainforests are found growing on sand dunes at elevations of over 200 metres.

The low 'wallum' heaths on the island are of particular evolutionary and ecological significance, providing magnificent wildflower displays in spring and summer. Birds are the most abundant form of animal life on the island with over 350 species being recorded. It is a particularly important site for migratory wading birds which use the area as a resting place during their long flights between southern Australia and their breeding grounds in Siberia. A species of particular interest is the endangered ground parrot, which is found in the wallum heath lands. Few mammal species are present on the island. The most common are bats, particularly flying foxes. The dingo population on the island is regarded as the most pure strain of dingoes remaining in eastern Australia. The lakes on Fraser Island are poor habitats for fish and other aquatic species because of the purity, acidity and low nutrient levels of the water. Some frog species are adapted to survive in this difficult environment. Appropriately called 'acid frogs', they tolerate the acidic condition characteristic of the Fraser Island lakes and swamps

Called K'gari by its Aboriginal inhabitants, the island reveals Aboriginal occupation of at least 5000 years, although it is possible that further archaeological work may indicate earlier occupation. Early European reports suggested that Fraser Island was heavily populated by Aboriginal people, but subsequent research indicates that there was a small permanent population of 400-600 that swelled seasonally to perhaps 2000-3000 in the winter months when seafood resources were particularly abundant. Fraser Island contains many sites of archaeological, social and spiritual significance. Middens, artefacts scatters, fish traps, scarred trees and campsites bear witness to the lives of the original inhabitants.

European contact, initiated by Matthew Flinders in 1802, was sporadic and limited to explorers, escaped convicts and shipwreck survivors. In 1836 a number of survivors of the wrecked ship 'Stirling Castle' lived for about six weeks on the island before being rescued. During these six weeks, hostility and aggression developed between the Europeans and the Aborigines. One of the survivors was the wife of the captain of the Stirling Castle, Eliza Fraser, after whom Europeans named the island. Day-to-day management of the island is primarily the responsibility of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.