Australia on Wednesday officially gave back the Aboriginal name of K’gari to a large island off the east coast that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was called Fraser Island during the colonial era.
“I am proud that we can officially restore the name that the island’s traditional owners have used for so many years (…)” said Queensland Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk.
A “smoking ceremony” was held to mark the name change.
The island attracts more than half a million tourists every year. K’gari means “paradise” in the Butchulla Aboriginal language.
It owes its colonial name to James Fraser, a British captain whose ship ran aground on the island in 1836.
With a length of 122 km and the largest sand island in the world, the island was declared a World Heritage Site in 1992 for its “majestic remains of large rainforests growing on the sand” and for being “home to half the freshwater dune lakes of the world”, according to the UNESCO.
Also known for its packs of dingoes and wild dogs, it is separated from mainland Australia by only a one kilometer strait.
Ms Palaszczuk said the name change was another gesture of reconciliation in Australian society.
It is becoming more common for Australians to refer to places by Aboriginal names. The famous midland monolith, Ayer’s Rock, is increasingly referred to as Uluru. Likewise, it is no longer uncommon for Melbourne to be referred to by the Aboriginal name Naarm.
Aborigines now make up around 2% of Australia’s 26 million people. They have lived in Australia for around 65,000 years but have faced various forms of discrimination, oppression and dispossession since the beginning of British colonization in the 18th century.
They still suffer from greater poverty, a shorter life expectancy and a higher incarceration rate than the majority of Australians today.
A referendum is due to be held in Australia this year on the inclusion in the constitution of Aboriginal people’s right to consultation on matters affecting them.