ELIZA FRASER - How Fraser Island Got Its Name Once upon a time in the beautiful isle of Fraser Island, the indigenous inhabitants of the said island which are commonly called the Butchulla people gave Fraser Island the name of K'gari which means paradise. True to the meaning of the historical name of this isle , it is really a paradise which is richly blessed with abundant flora and fauna wildlife. It is surrounded by many white-sand beaches and cool blue waters of the seas. In addition, its forestland consists of lush trees and wild plants, together with its various species of wild flowers and animals which are only found in the said isle. All throughout the island, there are perched lakes, creeks, streams and rivers which have calm and pristine waters. Visit building sunshine coast. The very first recorded sighting of Fraser Island was on the year 1770 when Captain Cook saw the island from afar and named it Indian Head, because he noticed a group of aboriginals standing on the headland. Then on the later part, approximately in the year 1799 to 1802, Captain Matthew Flinders, the first white person to set its foot on the magnificent Fraser island, initiated a contact to the local islanders and organized peaceful meeting with them. Then, sometime in the unfortunate date of May 21, 1836 the the 500-ton ship brig named Stirling Castle of Captain James Fraser crashed in the heavy seas very near Fraser island. The crash was on the Great Barrier Reef, some 200 km north west of the Fraser Island. Thereafter, Captain James called the reef Eliza Reef, after his pregnant wife, Eliza Fraser. On that eventful day, the passengers and crew took the ship’s pinnace (seven of them) and the longboat (twelve of them). However, unfortunately, the longboat was damaged as it was being launched. So after that, it was said that they decided to row south some 500 km to the penal colony of Moreton Bay (Brisbane). And soon after setting off, Eliza gave birth to a baby boy, who unfortunately died almost immediately. What they did after that is just to wrap him in a cloth and throw the lifeless baby boy overboard. Then another unwanted thing happened, the pinnace and the longboat got separated at sea. Get more information from custom home builder sunshine coast. Amazingly, after over a month at sea, which included a gale that lasted for a week, the leaking longboat landed at the northern end of Fraser Island. The twelve survivors (including Captain and Mrs. Fraser) began walking south some hundred kilometres, eventually reaching Hook Point at the Southern end of the island. The remaining survivors were unable to cross the wide and fast-moving water that separated them from the mainland and this resulted to their capture by the local Aborigines. In the course of these events, Captain Fraser was speared and died. Then his wife, Eliza Fraser was made to work - like any other female member of an Aboriginal tribe. Then after a few weeks, she was rescued by a certain John Graham. Later on, when Eliza recovered, she made money traveling around England and Australia telling her story of the events that had occurred while the Stirling Castle’s officers were on the island. Because of these she became so famous; it was also believed by the many that she intentionally to embellish and improved her story as the years go by. Because of Eliza's story, the island became famous too, hence instead of its name K’gari, it was later on called Fraser's Island, and through the years it was shortened to Fraser Island. In 1947, a certain painter named Sidney Nolan, visited and explored Fraser Island. He heard the story of Eliza, researched it as best he could, and worked a few series of paintings on the island and Eliza Fraser. He even made a novel entitled A Fringe of Leaves which partly relates Eliza’s experiences. And that is how Fraser Island got its name!
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