Lake McKenzie, the 'Blue Lake', near Central Station, Fraser Island

 

Fraser Island
Spectacularly beautiful sand island full of hidden delights and wonders.
There is no doubt that Fraser Island ranks as one of the true wonders of Australia. It is the largest sand island in the world and has such a range of attractions and activities that it is a must for anyone travelling along the Queensland coast. It is on Fraser Island that the visitor can see extraordinary freshwater sand dune lakes, beautiful quiet streams, white beaches, rainforest, eucalypt forest, cliffs with remarkable coloured sand horizons and rugged headlands.

Located just off the coast from Hervey Bay (which is 300 km north of Brisbane and 37 km east of Maryborough) Fraser Island is 123 km long and varies from 7 km to 22 km wide. It covers an area of 184 000 sq. km and has sand dunes which rise to a height of 240 m. It is estimated that the sands which make up Fraser Island reach over 600 m below the sea.

The first European to sight Fraser Island was Captain James Cook who passed along the coast of the island between 18-20 May 1770 and named Indian Head after seeing a number of Aborigines assembled there. He was not impressed with the island observing that 'The land hereabouts which is of moderate height, appears more barren than any we have yet seen on this coast, and the soil more sandy'.

In 1799 and 1802 Matthew Flinders sailed past the island. He mapped it both times but on neither occasion did he confirm that it was separated from the mainland. He suspected that it was an island but was unable to sail around it.

Like Cook before him, Flinders was far from impressed with the land noting: 'This part of the coast is very barren; there being great patches of moveable sand many acres in extent through which appeared in some places the green tops of grass, half buried, and in others the naked trunks of such as the sand has destroyed.'

The most famous early contact with the island was that of Eliza Fraser (after whom the island is named) and her shipwrecked companions from the brig the Stirling Castle. On 13 May 1836, while travelling from Sydney to Singapore, the Stirling Castle struck the Great Barrier Reef about 320 km south of Torres Strait. Captain James Fraser, his pregnant wife Eliza, and 18 passengers and crew launched the ship's longboat and pinnacle and set course for Moreton Bay. During the next six weeks Eliza gave birth (the baby survived for only a few hours) and the pinnacle was cut adrift and, although Captain Fraser had been trying to avoid the coast for fear of the Aborigines, it was forced to land for water on the Great Sandy Island (Fraser Island) on 26 June.

The local Aborigines stripped the survivors and separated Eliza from her husband. For the next two months the Frasers (the Captain was to die) and the other survivors were put to work and forced to live in arduous conditions.

Eventually a search party from Moreton Bay led by Lieutenant Charles Otter was sent out to search for the survivors. John Graham, a remarkable convict who had once lived with the Aborigines, found Eliza and escorted her back to Moreton Bay. She subsequently sailed to Sydney where she was feted as a heroine. The people of Sydney, impressed by her bravery, raised a considerable amount of money for her by public subscription.

Before Eliza departed for England she married Captain Alexander John Greene of the Mediterranean Packet. In England she published a book of her adventures which went by the delightful title of The Shipwreck of Mrs Fraser, and the loss of the Stirling Castle, on a Coral Reef in the South Pacific Ocean. Containing an account of the hitherto unheard-of sufferings and hardships of the crew, who existed for seven days without food or water. The dreadful sufferings of Mrs. Fraser. who, with her husband, and the survivors of the ill-fated crew, are captured by the savages of New Holland, and by them stripped entirely naked, and driven into the bush. Their dreadful slavery, cruel toil, and excruciating tortures inflicted on them. The horrid death of Mr. Brown, who was roasted alive over a slow fire kindled beneath his feet. Meeting of Mr. and Mrs. Fraser, and inhuman murder of Captain Fraser in the presence of his wife. Barbarous treatment of Mrs Fraser, who is tortured, speared, and wounded by the savages. The fortunate escape of one of the crew, to Moreton Bay, a neighbouring British settlement, by whose instrumentality, through the ingenuity of a convict, named Graham, the survivors obtain their deliverance from the savages. Their subsequent arrival in England, and appearance before the Lord Mayor of London.' Yes, that was the book's title!

It was a huge best seller in England. After such a dramatic life Eliza slipped into quiet obscurity. She and Captain Greene returned to the Antipodes. Eliza was accidentally run over and killed in Melbourne in 1858.

The story has captured the Australian imagination. It has been made into a TV program and a film. Sidney Nolan did two series of paintings based on the story and Patrick White's novel A Fringe of Leaves is based on the events.

For people who are seeing the island's rainforests for the first time, White's description is evocative: 'Now it hushed the strangers it was initiating. At some stages of the journey the trees were so densely massed, the columns so moss-upholstered or lichen-encrusted, the vines suspended from them so intricately rigged, the light barely slithered down, and then a dark, watery green, though in rare gaps where the sassafras had been thinned out, and once where a giant blackbutt had crashed, the intruders might have been reminded of actual light if this had not flittered, again like moss, but dry, crumbled, white to golden.'

 

The rusty wreck of the Maheno on the eastern beach

 

The first European to sail between the mainland and Fraser Island was Lieutenant Robert Dayman. He had been one of the survivors of the Stirling Castle ordeal. He managed to complete the journey upon his return to the area in 1847. Dayman Point at Urangan (see Hervey Bay) was named after him.

The history of Fraser Island through the latter half of the nineteenth century is one more sad example of the decimation of Australia's original inhabitants. It has been estimated that the Aboriginal population of the island was between 2000-3000 in 1850. By 1890 it had been reduced to 300. The combination of diseases brought by passing sailors (Fraser Island was used as a kind of trading post for Maryborough), alcohol, the exploitation of the island's timber reserves from 1863 and the enslavement of the Aborigines, wreaked havoc on the population. The 1860 decision to gazette the island as an Aboriginal Reserve meant nothing. By the turn of the century most of the Aborigines had been dispersed to the mainland or had died in the dubious missions which were established on the island. The last of the Fraser Island Aborigines to be removed to the mainland was 'Banjo' Henry Owens who was sent to the Cherbourg Mission in the 1930s. The island's population had been as totally destroyed. The situation bore remarkable similarities to the genocide of the Aboriginal population of Tasmania.

In 1870, as a result of a series of shipwrecks, a lighthouse was built at Sandy Cape. This was the first permanent European settlement on the island.

There have been a number of excellent books written about the island. The best, in terms of the history, flora, fauna and geomorphology, is Discovering Fraser Island by John Sinclair (one time President of the Fraser Island Defence Organisation and The Australian's Australian of the Year in 1976) which is detailed, comprehensive and informative. No serious visit to the island should be attempted without it. It lists all the major fauna and flora to be found on the island as well as providing a detailed geomorphological explanation of the island's formation.

Sinclair's list of twenty places of interest on the island is definitive. There is Woongoolbver Creek which carries clear water through the island's rainforest at Central Station (Central Station was once the home of over 100 people and the centre of the forestry industry on the island), Lake Wabby, the island's deepest lake which is rich in fish and surrounded by ancient melaleucas (it is slowly being filled by a giant sandblow), Rainbow Gorge with its coloured sand formations, Eli Creek, the wreck of the Maheno (after thirty years of service in Australian waters it was being towed to Japan as scrap when it hit cyclonic conditions off the coast and was washed ashore on 9 July 1935), the rocky outcrops at Indian Head, Middle Rocks and Waddy Point, the multi-coloured 'Cathedrals' and 'Pinnacles' which lie to the north of the wreck of the Maheno, the various lakes on the island which include Lake Bowarrady (120 m above sea level), Lake McKenzie, Lake Boemingen (reputedly the largest perched lake in the world), Ocean Lake, Hidden Lake, and Coomboo Lake, the scrubs and swamps, and McKenzie's Jetty which was originally built as an access point to the mainland for the timber cutters and subsequently used by the Z Force during World War II (see Hervey Bay). It is now derelict.

Since the 1960s Fraser Island has been at the centre of a series of bitter environmental battles. The first battle, in the 1970s, focussed on sand mining and most recently there has been a battle over the logging of the island.

The environmental history of the island is not something which Australians can be very proud of. The first attempt to establish the island as a National Park was made as early as 1893 but the timber interests which were already on the island managed to dissuade the government and for the next 60 years the island was logged. In 1961 there was a move to give the island to the Nauruans to compensate them for the wholesale destruction of Nauru by phosphate (bird droppings) miners from Australia and New Zealand. The timber industry managed to ensure that this proposal did not proceed.

By the mid 1960s a number of mining leases had been taken out on parts of the island by Queensland Titanium Mines Pty Ltd and Murphyores. The wealth of the island lay in its rich deposits of rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monazite. The battle raged through the both the state and federal courts and resulted in the historic Fraser Island Environmental Inquiry which, in October 1976, decided that all sand mining should be banned and that the island should be recorded as part of the National Estate. The inquiry concluded that: 'The natural environment of Fraser Island is of great significance, complexity and fragility. The island possesses individual features of great attraction and importance - such as its perched lakes, immense beaches, cliffs of Teewah (coloured) sands, sandblows and rainforested sand dunes. But the inevitable highlighting of the presence and importance of these individual features of its natural environment should not be allowed to obscure the links and interdependency of its many fragile elements, while, overall, an impression of wilderness gives unity to the broad spectrum of the particular natural features of the island.'

It may have seemed like the fight over Fraser Island was over but in 1990 there were still battles going on over the logging of the island's rainforest. The arguments of the timber lobby were predictable. Timber had been logged on the island for over a century so how could further logging damage an already damaged environment. The environmentalists argued that the island was simply too valuable for logging to continue. Today Fraser Island is World Heritage listed and almost the entire island is protected National Park, ideal for camping, 4WD and bushwalking. The island is visited by around 200,000 travellers each year, yet it does preserve a sense of remoteness. It preseves ancient Aboriginal sites and a a range of wildlife including over 200 bird species, brumbies, dingoes, wallabies and echidnas. Accommodation ranges from flats, motels and holiday houses to campsites. Happy Valley and Eurong Resorts cater for fishing guests and can arrange 4WD hire.

Apart from Hervey Bay there are two other mainland centres which offer access to Fraser Island: Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay.

 

 

Things to see:  

Ferries
Ferry services to Fraser Island depart from three different locations: Rainbow Beach, River Heads (an outer southern port for Hervey bay located east of Maryborough) and Hervey Bay. Services from Rainbow Beach are as follows:

There are currently three vehicular barges which all operate on demand from Inskip Point (7 km north of Rainbow Beach) on the mainland, and Hook Point on the island. Departures kick off at around 7.00 a.m. and conclude at about 6.00 p.m., with extended hours in peak times. There is no need to book. Two of the vessels - the Rainbow Venture and Elmer's Barge - are associated with Eurong Resort on Fraser Island (tel: 07 5486 3227). The other is the Manta Ray, tel: (07) 5486 8600 or (0418) 872 599 or Manta-ray@rainbow-beach.org. In September 2002, a price war was raging and the cost, per vehicle (driver and passengers included), dropped to as little as $20 return, but this may well not last long.

Services from Hervey Bay Boat Harbour and River Heads all require advance bookings. The Fraser Dawn departs from Hervey Bay Boat Habour at Urangan for Moon Point at 8.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. daily, returning from Moon Point at 9.30 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. daily. The trip takes about one hour and, in September 2002, the price was $82 return for one vehicle and driver plus $5.50 for each additional person at school age and above. For walk-on passengers the cost was $16.50 return per person, tel: (07) 4125 4444.

Also departing from Hervey Bay Boat Harbour, at Urangan, is a passenger service bound for the Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island. This is NOT a vehicle barge. It departs at 6.45 a.m., 8.45 a.m., midday and 4.00 p.m. daily, plus an additional departure at 6.30 a.m. from Sunday to Thursday and at 7.00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The return trips depart Kingfisher Resort at 7.40 a.m., 10.30 a.m., 2.00 p.m., 5.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. daily. The cost is $35 return, per adult and $17.50 return, per child aged over four, tel: (1800) 072 555.

The Kingfisher Resort also has a passenger service which departs from River Heads at 7.15 a.m., 10.00 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. daily, with return services departing from the resort at 8.00 a.m., 1.30 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. The prices are the same as from Urangan.

It is also possible to take a vehicle barge called the Fraser Venture from River Heads to Wonggoolba Creek (a thirty minute trip). They depart at 9.00 a.m., 10.15 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. daily, with an additional service at 7.00 a.m. Saturday. The return trips depart from Wonggoolba Creek at 9.30 a.m., 3.30 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. daily with an additional service at 7.30 a.m. on Saturdays, tel: (07) 4125 4444. The prices for the Fraser Venture are the same as those for the Fraser Dawn.

Maps of the island are for sale at all ferry points. It is important to remember that a permit is required to drive on Fraser Island, for which a fee is payable. They can be obtained from the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service offices. One is located at Rainbow Beach and is open from 7.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. daily (tel: 07 5486 3160) and another is located at River Heads. There are also fees for usage of the camping facilities on the island.

 

Stonetood Sand Dune
This huge dune is currently moving across the island burying everything in its way. The movement, driven by the prevailing winds, is very slow. The size of the dune is remarkable. It is not possible to walk across the dune. Although the island has been used for over 100 years by Europeans there is now a genuine environmental concern which recognises the delicate ecology of the region.

 

Eli Creek
Eli Creek is the largest freshwater stream on the eastern coast of the island. It is an area of exceptional and pristine beauty. There are a number of wooden walkways and a short, circular route runs up one side of the creek and down the other. It is possible to swim in the lower reaches of the creek. On a hot day it is very cool and refreshing.

 

 

Eli Creek, the largest creek on Fraser Island

 

The Wreck of the Maheno
After thirty years of service in Australian waters the Maheno, a huge cruise vessel, was being towed to Japan as scrap when it hit cyclonic conditions off the coast and was washed ashore on 9 July 1935. The past 60 years of waves and weathering have reduced this once huge vessel to a small rusting hulk.

 

The Pinnacles and the Cathedrals
These coloured sand cliffs have been sculptured by the wind and rain blowing in off the Pacific Ocean. The colours - red, brown, yellow and orange - are spectacular. The size of the cliff faces is a reminder of how large the sand dunes on the island are.

 

Central Station
The Woongoolbver Creek which carries clear water through the island's rainforest at Central Station (Central Station was once the home of over 100 people and the centre of the forestry industry on the island) is one of the most beautiful retreats on the whole of the island. It seems as though this area inspired the Australian Nobel Prize winner Patrick White whose description of the island in the novel A Fringe of Leaves includes the lines: 'Now it hushed the strangers it was initiating. At some stages of the journey the trees were so densely massed, the columns so moss-upholstered or lichen-encrusted, the vines suspended from them so intricately rigged, the light barely slithered down, and then a dark, watery green, though in rare gaps where the sassafras had been thinned out, and once where a giant blackbutt had crashed, the intruders might have been reminded of actual light if this had not flittered, again like moss, but dry, crumbled, white to golden.'

 

Lake McKenzie
There are a number of freshwater lakes on the island including Lake Bowarrady (120 m above sea level), Lake McKenzie, Lake Boemingen (reputedly the largest perched lake in the world), Ocean Lake, Hidden Lake, and Coomboo Lake. Each is notable for the clarity of the water, the purity of the white sands on the surrounding beaches and the peacefulness of the area. They are ideal places for picnics and fishing.

 

Tours
Fraser Island Adventure Tours are located at 4 Mooloola St, Minyama, tel: (07) 5444 6957 or www.fraserislandadventuretours.com.au

 

Horseriding
Clip Clop Treks operate lengthy horse rides from Rainbow Beach, across the ferry to Fraser Island, and also around the hinterland,

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