- Formerly:
- Fraser Island
- Also called:
- Great Sandy Island
K’gari
K’gari, island off the southeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, separated from the mainland and the port of Maryborough by Hervey Bay and Great Sandy Strait. About 75 miles (120 km) long and 15 miles (25 km) at its widest point, it is the largest sand island in the world. Sand hills rise to nearly 800 feet (250 meters), and there are 40 perched dune lakes (about half the world total). There are also rainforests and extensive wildflower heaths on the island. Birdlife abounds on K’gari, but there are few species of mammals (bats are most common, and there are some dingoes). The southwestern part of the island is a tourist resort.
In 1860 Fraser Island was designated a reserve for Aboriginal people (archaeological evidence indicates that the Butchulla people had been living on the island for at least 5,000 years), but the distinction revoked in 1906, after they were removed from the island. Part of what is known today as K’gari has been a forest reserve since 1908, about one-fourth of the island was declared a national park in 1971, and in 1976 Great Sandy National Park was established and extended to occupy roughly the northern third of the island. In 1992 the entire island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was added to Australia’s National Heritage List in 2007.
Kauri and hoop pine, blackbutt, and satinay timber can be found on K’gari. Sand mining was carried out on the island until 1977, when the Commonwealth government banned exports of the mineral sands.
The island was sighted in 1770 by British explorer Captain James Cook, who believed it to be a promontory; the first landing was made by navigator Matthew Flinders in 1802. It was named for Captain James Fraser, who, with several of his party who had survived a shipwreck and landed on the island, died there in 1836. (Murder carried out by Aboriginal peoples and starvation have variously been cited as the cause of his death.) Some accounts say the island was named for Fraser’s wife, Eliza, who survived and was rescued; her subsequent descriptions of her experiences, particularly her negative representations of the Butchulla, had an enduring influence.
The island was officially renamed K’gari in 2023. It is the name used by the Butchulla people, who are the traditional owners and custodians of the land. K’gari is pronounced GAR-rie. The island is about 620 square miles (1,600 square km) in area.