photo dump - K'gari
When some mates and I were in our twenties (a while ago now), we took a regular trip to what we then called Fraser Island. It was a week away full of fishing, great laughs, bad cooking, constant time outdoors (I practically slept on the balcony), and for me some photo-taking fun.
At the time, I honestly did not know about the island’s traditional owners, the Butchulla people.
That’s on me.
I didn’t know then that the traditional name for what we were calling “Fraser Island” was actually “K’gari” (pronounced “Gurrie”).
I didn’t know then that the Butchella people’s connection with K’gari is guided by three main lores:
What is good for the land must come first.
Do not take or touch anything that does not belong to you.
If you have plenty you must share.
I didn’t know then that the name “Fraser Island” was given after Captain James Fraser and his wife Eliza, were shipwrecked on the island in the 1830s. Or that, according to historians, after being rescued Eliza spread rumours about the Butchulla people that led to the dispossession of K’gari and genocide.
What I did know, in my soul, was that the island was paradise, which I know today is the meaning of the word K’gari in the language of the Butchulla people. I’ve not walked on more beautiful beaches, seen more stunning sunsets, or sat on more powerful headlands than while I was on K’gari over those few years.
So yes, my understanding of the island’s history, traditional owners, and true name has changed. The broader public’s understanding too might be changing, I do hope it is.
I have certainly changed in the ten-plus years since spending time on K’gari, including in my desire to learn the stories of the Traditional Owners of the lands that I visit and live on across this vast continent - and my willingness to understand the pain of dispossession and genocide, and the hope of restoration and self-determination.
What has remained with me though - something that will never change - is the sense of wonder and joy that I am privileged to carry when I think of the time I spent connecting with the paradise that is K’gari.
Hopefully, you can see a glimpse of that in my photos shared here.
Dingo sitting on a sandy beach.
Sunset from Waddy Point.
Tukkee (Indian Head).
Sunset on ocean.
White bellied Sea-Eagle
Waddy Point Headland.
Cars on sand.
Sunset fishing at Waddy Point.
Sunset from Waddy Point Headland.
Sunset Fishing at Waddy Point
Afternoon on Waddy Point.
Night by the sea.
Sunrise on K’gari.
Calm after dusk.
Moon over ocean.
Sunset on K’gari.
