It’s hoped Fraser Island will observe the lead of Uluru and solely be recognized by its Indigenous identify, because the Queensland authorities flags an official identify change.
The proposal will take a step ahead this week as two months of public session start, the state’s sources minister, Scott Stewart, mentioned on Wednesday.
He hopes the method will result in the Indigenous identify of Okay’gari coming into the widespread vernacular in the identical means Uluru has changed Ayers Rock.
“Nobody calls it Ayers Rock any extra, they name it Uluru, and it’s about respecting our First Nations individuals, and about respecting the connection they've with this land,” Stewart mentioned.
“(For) 60,000 years they’ve been calling it Okay’gari; I believe it’s about time we began to do precisely the identical.”
The reinstatement of Okay’gari because the island’s identify has been a very long time coming, the chair of the Butchulla Aboriginal Company, aunty Gayle Minniecon, mentioned.
“It means a lot to the Butchulla individuals,” she mentioned.
“For us it’s about respect for our individuals. It’s vital for us to let our ancestors know that our tradition continues to be sturdy and we proceed to take care of our nation.”
The session follows the island’s world heritage space being renamed Okay’gari final yr, surroundings minister Meaghan Scanlon mentioned
“Okay’gari means paradise within the Butchulla language and as a preferred vacation spot for its pure magnificence, is a way more becoming identify for such an iconic place,” Scanlon mentioned.
“The identify Fraser Island is culturally inappropriate - it's a tribute to Eliza Fraser, a lady whose narrative straight led to the bloodbath and dispossession of the Butchulla individuals.”
Okay’gari was initially recognized by Europeans as Nice Sandy Island earlier than it was modified to Fraser Island after Scotswoman Eliza Fraser was shipwrecked there in 1836.
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