The stunning and culturally significant sand island of Fraser Island has been officially restored to its Indigenous title of K’gari this week. On June 6, the landmark decision echoes the name change at Uluru and is an important step in reparations toward traditional custodians of what we call Australia.

Pronounced “Gurrie”, K’gari means “paradise” to the Butchulla people that hail from the region, members of which were present for a ceremony to celebrate the reclaiming.

Butchulla elder, Chris Royan said of the officiation, “As traditional owners, we have always called it K’gari – so for us to officially get the rest of Queensland and Australia to call it K’gari, is really important.”

In local creation stories, K’gari is the name of the White Spirit who helped create Butchulla country. The name also translates to “paradise” which any visitors to the island would agree with.

The colonial name Fraser Island came to be in the 1830s after Captain James Fraser and his wife Eliza were shipwrecked there. Actions of settlers after the Fraser’s rescue directly led to the displacement and genocide of the Butchulla people. 

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The World Heritage Committee officially changed the name of the World Heritage Area of the island to K’gari in 2021 – but Fraser Island remained the official place name. With the restoring of the name in 2023, four title deeds for more than 19 hectares of land on K’gari have also been handed back to the Butchulla people, which can never be sold.

If you want to do you part in reparations to Indigenous people, sign up to Pay The Rent, all proceeds directly benefit Indigenous people and communities.

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