Aborginial Heritage

Fraser Island continues to be a culturally significant place for traditional Butchulla (pronounced Badt-jala) people.  Dreamtime stories  teel of Yindingie's transformation into the island, with it's mirrored lakes enabling a heavenly messenger to see into the heavens.  However it was the Island's food sources that prompted the Butchulla to name it K'Gari, meaning paradise.  While Fraser Island was a destination of feasting, it has an intricate history of the Butchulla people that is still eviden today in archaeological sites across the island.  Evidence of the Butchulla people indicates that their history on the island is more than 5,000 years old.  Large tribes of Butchulla stopped living on the island in 1904.

European Settlement

Captain Cook sailed the Fraser Coast in 1770, while discovery honours fall to Matthew Flinders in 1799.  Since then the island has seen a varied European History including grazing and logging on the island by the early pioneers and the special Z Force using the island as a training base during World War 2.

Tourism History

Fraser Island has been a special place for visitors for decades. With a tourism industry starting from humble beginings the island today  provides environmentally friendly products and  services by  world class operators and is at the top of everyone's bucket list.