The largest sand island in the world, Queensland's Fraser Island was inscribed on the World Heritage listing in 1992. The island has a wide variety of natural features including freshwater sand dune lakes, quiet streams, white beaches, rainforest, eucalypt forest, cliffs with remarkable coloured sand horizons and rugged headlands, making it a perfect back-to-nature destination.
Where is it?: Queensland: Burnett/Fraser Coast , off the coast from Hervey Bay, some 300 km north of Brisbane and 37 km east of Maryborough
Things to see and do:
Unless you have brought or hired a 4-wheel drive vehicle, the best way to explore and enjoy Fraser Island is on its walking tracks. Choose from short walks through rainforests, strolls around a lake or longer walks across a sandblow. Long distance walkers will enjoy the 90km Fraser Island Great Walk for that special wilderness experience.
Attractions on Fraser Island include Lake Boomanjin (the largest perched lake in the world; the crystal clear water of Wanggoolba Creek at Central Station; the dazzling white shores of Lake McKenzie; Wongi, Hammerstone and Badjala Sandblows; the island's giant rainforest trees, particularly within Valley of the Giants; the historic areas of Bogimbah Creek, McKenzies Jetty and Mill and Fraser Island Commando School.
Fraser Island has a number of shipwrecks, the Maheno on Orchard Beach being the most well known. More >>
Hervey Bay is regarded by many as the Whale Watch Capital of the World, not just because of the numbers of whales, but also because the whale watching occurs in the calm, safe waters protected by Fraser Island. More than 1500 humpback whales visit Hervey Bay on their migration south to the Antarctic in August September and October. Humpbacks can stay in the sheltered lee of Fraser Island for two days or two weeks.
Getting There: Fraser Islands is not connected to the mainland, so the only way to reach the island is by ferry, unless you have your own water craft. It is possible to take vehicles to Fraser Island by vehicular ferry, but vehicle must be 4-wheel drive as there are no made roads on the island. 4-wheel drive vehicles can be hired in the island. Fraser Island Barges and Ferry provides a range of vehicle barge and ferry access Fraser Island. Barges and ferry services run daily via Rainbow Beach from Inskip Point, from River Heads, south of Hervey Bay, and from Urangan Boat Harbour in Hervey Bay. Kingfisher Ferry operates 6 services to the resort each day from River Heads, Hervey Bay, and return. This ferry has seating for 220 passengers on two decks with a fully licensed bar and snack food available. The journey takes approximately 50 minutes.
About Fraser Island
Fraser Island is 123 km long and varies from 7 km to 22 km wide. It covers an area of 184 000 sq. km and has sand dunes which rise to a height of 240 m. It is estimated that the sands which make up Fraser Island reach over 600 m below the sea.
The native plant communities support a significantly diverse fauna, due to the variety and specialisation of a large number of habitats, although diversity within habitats is low. The island is noted for its low number and abundance of introduced species, presence of false water-rat Xeromys myoides and high genetic purity of the dingo relative to other areas in eastern Australia. Over 300 bird species have been recorded including red goshawk Erythrotriochis radiatus, black breasted button quail Turnix melanogaster, beach stone curlew Esacus neglectus and ground parrot Pezoporus wallicus. Fraser Island is also rich in reptile fauna.
The forests of the island have been subject to logging for around 130 years. The mainland rain forests were largely cleared for timber and then agriculture, but the forests of the sand masses have fared considerably better. Many of the largest and oldest trees were removed, and the resource of scrub timber declined to unsustainable levels in some instances after less than 30 years of logging.
Valuable heavy minerals occur in ore bodies throughout the sand masses of the region. To extract these, the original forest of a comparatively small (150ha) area of land in the south-east of Fraser Island was removed, and the topography irreversibly simplified, as a result of mining which was permitted up until 1976.
Several towns, settlements and resorts, as well as camping areas, forestry camps, roads, jetties, and airstrips lie within the nominated area. Similar developments border the area to the south and west. There are additional development proposals both within and adjacent to the nominated area, several of which have already received approval.
Fraser Island is currently estimated to receive around 300,000 visitors a year, this number having increased rapidly since 1975. A network of roads and tracks exists, comprised of approximately 1,000km of unsealed sand tracks and 44km of gravel roads, most of which are ungazetted and established originally for forestry purposes. These roads are suitable only for four wheel drive vehicles. There is a continuing and serious problem with the control of four-wheel-drive traffic on the island.
History: Fraser Island was named 'K'gari', meaning paradise, by the Butchulla Aboriginal people who are thought to have first occupied the region about 40,000 years ago. The earliest date for their occupation of Fraser Island is currently 1,500-2,000 years, although it is possible that further archaeological work may reveal evidence of earlier occupation. Four main groups of Aborigines dominated the Great Sandy region before the arrival of Europeans. Visible remains of Aboriginal settlement include middens, canoe and gunyah trees, and a few other markings such as scars where bees nests have been removed. Although examination of the archaeological potential of the region has been restricted, a number of sites have been located, particularly adjacent to the eastern shore. Over 200 shell middens have been found on Fraser Island.
The island's name recalls Eliza Fraser, a passenger on the brig Stirling Castle. On 13th May 1836, while travelling from Sydney to Singapore, the Stirling Castle struck the Great Barrier Reef about 320 km south of Torres Strait. Captain James Fraser, his pregnant wife Eliza, and 18 passengers and crew launched the ship's longboat and pinnacle and set course for Moreton Bay. During the next six weeks Eliza gave birth (the baby survived for only a few hours) and Captain Fraser was forced to land for water on the Great Sandy Island (Fraser Island). The local Aborigines stripped the survivors and separated Eliza from her husband and other survivors who died on the island after being tortured and murdered by the natives. Eventually a search party from Moreton Bay found Eliza and escorted her back to Moreton Bay. She subsequently sailed to Sydney where she was feted as a heroine. The people of Sydney, impressed by her bravery, raised a considerable amount of money for her by public subscription. She married again before returning to England where she published a book of her adventures. The best seller had the longest title of any book ever written - "The Shipwreck of Mrs. Fraser, and the loss of the Stirling Castle, on a Coral Reef in the South Pacific Ocean. Containing an account of the hitherto unheard-of sufferings and hardships of the crew, who existed for seven days without food or water. The dreadful sufferings of Mrs. Fraser who, with her husband, and the survivors of the ill-fated crew, are captured by the savages of New Holland, and by them stripped entirely naked, and driven into the bush. Their dreadful slavery, cruel toil, and excruciating tortures inflicted on them. The horrid death of Mr. Brown, who was roasted alive over a slow fire kindled beneath his feet. Meeting of Mr. and Mrs. Fraser, and inhuman murder of Captain Fraser in the presence of his wife. Barbarous treatment of Mrs. Fraser, who is tortured, speared, and wounded by the savages. The fortunate escape of one of the crew, to Moreton Bay, a neighbouring British settlement, by whose instrumentality, through the ingenuity of a convict, named Graham, the survivors obtain their deliverance from the savages. Their subsequent arrival in England, and appearance before the Lord Mayor of London".
The first Aboriginal mission was established at White Cliffs in 1870. This mission was short lived, operating only until 1873. An Aboriginal Reserve was established at White Cliffs in 1897 and then moved to Bogimbah Creek in September of that year, where it continued to operate until 1904 in later years as a mission. Fraser Island (Great Sandy National Park, 74,900ha), was gazetted in 1971. The remainder of Fraser Island consists predominantly of vacant Crown land of 78,404ha in public ownership, which has been proposed as a National Park extension subject to resolution of Aboriginal Land interests.
