Fraser Island
Heaven on Earth
Description
Location
History
The Indigenous Butchulla people are thought to have inhabited Frazer island for 6,000–8,000 years before the arrival of European settlers. They named it ‘K’gari’, meaning ‘paradise’.
Captain James Cook sighted the island in 1770 and, in the nineteenth century, Europeans named it Fraser Island in honour of Eliza Fraser who was shipwrecked there in 1836.
In more recent times, Fraser Island was known as a location for sand mining and timber logging that began in 1863 and ended in 1991.
Sand mining began in 1949, but stopped in 1976 after environmentalists took the case to the Australia's High Court.
Conservation groups were instrumental in the creation of the Fraser Island National Park, and its subsequent inclusion as a World Heritage site
Activities and Attractions
*Dingo Tours
*Lake McKenzie
*Sandy Cape Lighthouse
*Wanggoolba Creek
*Great Sandy National Park
*Fraser Island Great Walk
*75 mile Beach
*central station
*Lake Wabby
Flora and Fauna
Fraser has stunning surrounds and an absolutley beautiful range of fauna and Flora. The Island is home to 25 species of mamals, being most renownd for its dingo population. Its isolation has ensured Frasers dingos are the purest in Australia. The magnificent Hump back whales begin their migration from south from August through November after breeding in the Whitsunday waters. They meet in the warm waters of Hervey Bay which is one of two places in the world where they do this.
Fraser Island is paradise for bird watchers with over 230 species of birds, one of the largest and most varied in Australia. There are seven main types of vegetation on the island and around 800 species of plant life. Salt tolerant species such as spinifex are found in the sand dunes, while further inland eucalypts and scribble gums can be found. In the valleys of the island that are protected by high dunes there is an abundance of fresh water and the lush rain forests grow.