Fraser Island (K'Gari, Gari) is an island listed as a historic relic located along the southeastern coast of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is about 250 kilometers (160 miles) north of the state capital, Brisbane. Known as Fraser Island , it is an area within the local government of Fraser Coast in the Wide Bay-Burnett region.
Together with several satellite islands off the south west coast and thus in the Great Sandy Strait, Fraser Island forms the County of Fraser, which is divided into six parishes. Among the islands are Slain Island, Dental Island, Roundbush Island, Moonboom Island, Gardner Island, Impian Island, Stewart Island, and the Reef Islands, all parts of the southern parish of Talboor.
Its length is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) and its width is approximately 24 kilometers (15 mi). It was written as a World Heritage Site in 1992. The island is considered the largest sand island in the world at 1,840 km 2 . It is also the largest island in Queensland, Australia's sixth largest island and the largest island on the East Coast of Australia. It was once the homeland of the Butchulla tribe.
The island has rain forests, eucalyptus forests, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal areas. It consists of sand that has been accumulated for about 750,000 years in volcanic rocks providing a natural catch for sediments carried on strong offshore currents northward along the coast. Unlike in many dunes, plant life is abundant because of the mycorrhizal fungus that occurs naturally in the sand, which releases nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by plants. Fraser Island is home to a small number of mammal species, as well as a wide variety of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including occasional saltwater crocodiles. The island is protected in Great Sandy National Park.
Fraser Island has been inhabited by humans for 5,000 years. The James Cook explorer sailed to the island in May 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the island's northernmost point in 1802. For a short time the island was known as Great Sandy Island . The island is known as Fraser because of the stories of a shipwrecked victim named Eliza Fraser. Today the island is a popular tourist destination. The population of the population is 194 at the 2011 Australian Census.
In 2009 as part of the celebration of Q150, Fraser Island was announced as one of the Queensland Q150 icons for its role as a "natural attraction".
Video Fraser Island
Geography and ecology
Fraser Island is separated from the mainland by Great Sandy Strait. The southern tip, near Tin Can Bay, lies to the north of the Inskip Peninsula. The northernmost point of the island is Sandy Cape where Sandy Cape Light operated from 1870 to 1994. The formation of the lighthouse was the first permanent European settlement on the island. The closest major city to Fraser Island is Hervey Bay, while Maryborough and Bundaberg are also nearby. The bay on the northeast coast is called Marloo Bay and on the north west coast is Platypus Bay. The westernmost place on the island is Moon Point.
Eli Creek is the largest freshwater river on the island's east coast with a flow of 80 million liters per day. Eli Creek has a unique and varied wild life. Coongul Creek on the west coast has a flow rate of four to five million liters per hour. Some of the swamps on the island are fens, especially near Moon Point. It was only discovered in 1996 when a group of experts who attended the Ramsar conference in Brisbane flew over the island and conducted an air survey. From above they see a different pattern of peat hollow that has no trees. This is the first example of fens found in Australia and in the sub-tropical region, although more common on the nearby Cooloola coast.
Sandmass and The Pinnacles
The total volume of sand above sea level on Fraser Island is directly proportional to the mass of 113 cubic kilometers (27 cubic miles). All the sand, derived from the catch of Hawkesbury, Hunter and Clarence River in New South Wales has been transported to the north by transporting parallel beaches. Along the island's east coast the process is to take up more sand than deposited, resulting in slow coastal erosion that can be accelerated by rising sea levels associated with climate change. Sand consists of 98% quartz.
All the hills on the island have been formed with sandblowing. Sandblows is a parabolic sand dune that travels across the island through wind and without vegetation. In 2004, it was estimated there were a total of 36 sandblow on the island. With year-round south-east winds, the sand dunes on the island move at a speed of 1 to 2 meters per year and grow to a height of 244 meters. Mound movement creates overlapping sand dunes and sometimes cuts the waterways and covers the forest. Dune-building has occurred in the episode as sea level has changed and once extended further east. The oldest dune system is 700,000 years old, which is the oldest recorded sequence in the world.
The colored sand found in Rainbow Gorge, The Cathedrals, The Pinnacles and the Red Canyon is an example where sand has been stained for thousands of years due to conglomeration sand with clay. Hematite, the mineral pigment responsible for coloring acts like cement. This allows the steep cliffs of colored sand to form. Coffee stone, so called because when dissolved in water was the color of coffee, found in the outcrop along the beach on both sides of the island.
The beach is 120 kilometers (75 miles) stretching along most of Fraser Island's east coast. It is used as a landing base for aircraft and is officially designated as a main road (road rules state that vehicles should give way to the aircraft if they arrive). Along the coast are Champagne Pools, Indian Head, Maheno Wreck and Eli Creek outflow. The volcanic rocks found are found in Indian Head, Waddy Point and Middle Rocks as well as near Boon Boon Creek.
Lake
Fraser Island has more than 100 freshwater lakes, which is the second highest lake concentration in Australia after Tasmania. The freshwater lake on Fraser Island is some of the cleanest lakes in the world. The popular tourist area is Lake McKenzie located inland from the small town of Eurong. It is a perched lake situated on solid sand and vegetable material 100 meters (330Ã, ft) above sea level. Lake McKenzie has an area of ​​150 hectares and more than 5 meters (16 feet) in depth. The sand beaches of Lake McKenzie are almost pure silica. The lake has little nutrients and the pH varies, although sunscreen and soap are a problem as a form of pollution. Freshwater on the island may be tarnished by organic acids found in rotting vegetation. Due to the organic acid the pH level as low as 3.7 has been measured in some of the island's perch lakes. Acidity prevents many species from finding habitat in the lake.
The other perched lake on the island is Lake Boomanjin, which is 200 hectares, is the largest perched lake on the world's marine islands. In total there are 40 lakes perched on the island, half of all known lakes on the planet. Lake Boomanjin is fed by two tributaries that pass through the swamp wallum where he collects the tannin coloring the red water. Lake Wabby is the deepest lake on the island, at a depth of 12 meters (39 ft) and also the least acidic which means it has the most intimate aquatic life of all lakes.
Some of the lakes on Fraser Island are lake windows. This is formed when the water level rises to a higher point than the surrounding soil. Most of the valleys on the islands have tributaries fed by springs. Motorboats and jet skis are banned from the lake on the island.
Maps Fraser Island
Climate
The Fraser Islands climate is generally mild and not subject to extreme temperatures due to the influence of oceanic moderation. Temperature rarely rises above 35 ° C (95 ° F) or drops below 5 ° C (41 ° F) and high moisture consistently. The heaviest rainfall during the summer and early fall, and the annual average is 1,271 mm (50.04 inches). Cyclones can be a threat; Hurricane Hamish brushed the island as category 5 in March 2009, while Typhoon Oswald in January 2013 was significantly weaker in Category 1. Both storms however caused severe coastal erosion, particularly on the northern tip of the island.
Fauna
Mammals
Estimates of the number of mammal species present on the island ranged from 25 to 50. Mammals found on Fraser Island include swamp wallabies, echidnas, ringtails and possum brushtails, sugar gliders, glider squirrels, phascogales, bandicoot, potoroos, flying foxes and dingoes. Wallaby swamps find protection from dingo in swampy areas that have dense bushes. There are 19 species of bats that live or visit Fraser Island.
Until 2003, when they were issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, there were several brumbies on the island, descendants of Arab descent became loose for breeding purposes, and merged in 1879 by horses brought to the logging industry.
Dingoes
Dingo was once common on the island, but is now declining. Dingo Island Fraser is said to be some of the last remaining pure dingo in eastern Australia and to prevent cross-breeding, dogs are not allowed on the island. According to DNA examination from 2004, dingo on Fraser Island is "pure". However, measurements of the skull from the 1990s detect crossbreeding between domestic dingo dogs and domestic dogs among populations.
Until 1995, there were no official records of dingo attacks on humans on Fraser Island. In April 2001, a boy named Clinton Gage wandered away from his family and was attacked and killed by some dingo. More than 120 dingo were killed by the forest police as a result of the incident, although local residents believe the numbers are much larger. After the 2001 attacks, four special guards were allocated the role of dingo management and forest rangers patrols upgraded. There is a fine to feed dingo or leave food and garbage that might interest them.
As of January 2008, the number of dingo on the island was estimated at 120-150, and sightings became less common. University of Queensland researcher Nick Baker claims that dingo on Fraser Island has adopted an unusual behavior. Instead of hunting in small packages, Dingo Fraser Island has developed a tolerance of one another and works together in one large hunting package. The Dingo-guardrail, which consists of metal rods above a concrete pit and a 1.8-meter long mesh fence was built around nine island settlements in 2008, to keep the dingo out of the cities.
At the end of 2009, a former ranger (no real formal records about himself employed by QPWS can be found) on the island, Ray Revill, claims 70% of the dingo population, which is then estimated between 100 and 120 animals, malnourished.. In March 2010, three separate reports of tourists bite the dingo made. Tourists were criticized for ignoring the advice of park rangers as they tried to provoke reactions from dingo while taking photos.
By 2015, the number of dingo on the island is estimated at 180 to 220.
Reptiles and amphibians
There are a total of 74 different species of reptiles recorded on Fraser Island. 18 species of snakes have been identified with one-third of them considered harmful, including a very venomous eastern chocolate snake. Goannas, snakes, geckos, lizards and frogs are all on this island. Several species of frogs have evolved to overcome the acidic waters of lakes and swamps on the island, and are appropriately called frog frogs. This island is home to the newly discovered Fraser Island sand beach. Freshwater turtles like the Krefts river turtle are found in lakes and tributaries on the island.
The saltwater crocodiles are exclusively tropical reptiles and are commonly found in Far North Queensland (several hundred kilometers northwest of Fraser Island), but, sometimes during warm seasons (December to March, when water temperatures reach consistent tropical temperatures) crocodiles may appear in areas in and around Fraser Island. During the summer of 2008-2009 some crocodiles (one more than 4 meters long) are present in the surrounding sea. It is thought that these reptiles are seasonal visitors, as they always disappear during the cold months (perhaps back to northern tropical Queensland.) This kind of activity seems to be reported but has not been verified decades ago (a handful of crocodiles have also historically observed rare events around Brisbane , Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast during the warm season) but in recent years has been proven and observed more frequently. Crocodiles do not breed nor do they have a permanent population living on Fraser Island.
Bird
Fraser Island is part of the Cooloola Essential Bird Area and the Fraser Coast (IBA). There are over 350 different species of birds on the island. Birds of prey include sea eagles, sea eagles, osprey and kites. Other common birds include pelicans, terns, honeyeaters, gulls, kingfishers, kookaburra, owls, doves, thornbills, ducks, brolga, and cockatoos. The island is visited by 20 species of wader birds migrating from afar like Siberia. The island provides habitat for 22 species of gulls and three different species, four species of eagle and six species kingfisher. A rare bird on the island is an eastern parrot, already extinct in parts of Australia.
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Cetaceans, such as humpback whales and some species of dolphins often visit the area. Macaques and sea turtles can also be found in the surrounding waters. White sharks, bulls, and large sharks can be found, with the last species sometimes approaching the fishermen wading through the waves. Crabs are found on the western side of the island near estuaries lined with mangroves. 24 species of freshwater fish found in the lake of this island.
There are 300 species of ants recorded on Fraser Island. Long eels and giant earthworms are also found on this island.
Flora
Flora on Fraser Island is diverse. More than 865 plant species live on the island. It is the only place on earth where a tall rainforest grows in the sand. The island has the largest level of remains of wallum health in Queensland. In Pile Valley, a rough 1,000 year old satinay was discovered. Although it is being logged pine kauri dominates in some areas. Scribbly gums, red gums, palms of palms, quantum blue, brush boxes and pandanus are all grown on Fraser Island. Along the coast, the canyon is dominated by salt tolerant species that include pigface, goat grapes, and beach spinifex. Spinifex sericeus is an important basic species. The decaying material from these mound grasses is damaged in the sand, providing essential nutrients for other plant species, such as coastal oak. The rare Angiopteris evecta, the largest leafy fern species in the world, grows on Fraser Island. The southwest coast is dominated by mangroves. Persoonia prostrata
When one travels from east to west across the island, the age of the sand dunes increases. This leads to progressive vegetation maturation in the same direction, except for some areas along the west coast where soil leaching has lowered the nutrient soil layer to depth beyond the roots of the plant. Each lake on Fraser Island is surrounded by concentric vegetation zones. Typically, these zones range from haste in shallow waters, then a mixture of pioneering species on the coast, down to bushes, health, paperbark, shrubs and finally eucalypt forests or banksia.
Administration
Fraser Island is part of the local government territory of the Fraser Coast Region, created in March 2008 as a result of a Local Government Reform Commission report released in July 2007. Prior to the reorganization of local government, the island split evenly between Hervey Bay City (northern part) and Maryborough City (southern part).
Fraser Island South is the Local Area 8 Maryborough City, and includes the village communities in Eurong, Kingfisher Bay Resort, and Dilli Village.
In 1971, the northern part of the island was declared a national park. Now almost all of Fraser Island is included in Great Sandy National Park, which is managed by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. This was extended in 1992 when a list of inheritance was awarded. Except for some small urban areas the island is protected by the Wild Rivers declaration.
Domestic dogs are not allowed on the island and fines may be granted for noncompliance. The ban, first applied in 1981, was imposed so that the island's population was not affected by the disease.
In 2010, park management, particularly dingo treatment by the Department of Environment and Resource Management was questioned by Glen Elmes in the Queensland Parliament. The camp field is sometimes closed so it can reduce human contact with the dingo population.
List of heirlooms
Fraser Island has a number of sites listed as heritage, including:
- The tip of the north island: Sandy Cape Light
- Protected Area: SS Marloo
The island is housed in the Australian Cultural Heritage List on May 21, 2007.
History and completion
Name
The island's earliest known name is 'K'gari' in the language of the Butchulla people (pronounced 'Gurri'). It means heaven.
According to Aboriginal legend, when humans were created and needed a place to live, the mighty god of Beiral sent his messenger Yendingie with the goddess K'gari down from heaven to create land and mountains, rivers and the sea. K'gari fell in love with the beauty of the earth and did not want to leave it. So Yendingie turns it into a heavenly island - Fraser Island.
Fraser Island's name comes from Eliza Fraser and his life story survived the shipwreck on the island. Captain James Fraser and his wife, Eliza Fraser, were stranded on the island in 1836. Their ship, Stirling Castle, sailed from Sydney to Singapore with 18 crew and passengers. The ship was hiding on the reef while traveling through the Great Barrier Reef to the north of the island. Transferring to two lifeboats, the crew set south, trying to reach the settlement in Moreton (now Brisbane). During the trip in this lifeboat, Captain Fraser's pregnant wife gave birth to a leaky lifeboat. The baby died shortly after birth. The captain's lifeboat became increasingly unworthy and was soon abandoned by another lifeboat that continued. The ship was drowned and its crew was stranded in what became known as Great Sandy Island. Whether those who survive death from disease, starvation, fatigue or battles with the natives will never be known for sure; most likely a little of all of the above. Captain Fraser died leaving Eliza living among the locals. He was rescued 6 weeks later by an inmate, John Graham, who lives in the bush as a runaway and who speaks Aboriginal language. He was sent from a settlement in Moreton by the authorities there who had heard of Eliza's affliction, and negotiated his comeback. Within 6 months, Eliza has been married to other sea captains. He moved to England and became a spectator attraction at Hyde Park telling a more terrifying story about his experiences with white slavery, cannibalism, torture and murder. Since he is known to have told several versions of the story, it is not known which version is the most accurate. He was killed in a train wreck in Melbourne in 1858 during a visit.
Australian Aborigines
Research and archaeological evidence shows that Aboriginal Australians occupied Fraser Island at least 5,000 years ago. There is a permanent population of 400-600 that grows to 2,000-3,000 in winter due to abundant seafood resources. The arrival of European settlers in the area was a major disaster for the Butchulla people. European settlements in the 1840s struck the Aboriginal lifestyle with weapons, diseases and food shortages. In 1890, the number of Butchulla has been reduced to only 300 people. Most of the remaining Butchullas were taken from the island in 1904 and transferred to missions in Yarrabah and Durundur, Queensland. It is estimated that up to 500 indigenous archaeological sites are on the island.
In October 2014, Original title rights were granted to Baddjala people by Federal Court. This essentially allows indigenous peoples to hunt, catch fish and take water for domestic purposes; and can open the island to economic opportunities for current and future Butchulla generations through ecotourism and related business development.
British exploration
Early European contacts were limited to explorers and shipwrecks. The first recorded Englishman to see Fraser Island was James Cook who passed the coast of the island between 18 and 20 May 1770. He named the Indian Head after seeing a number of Aboriginal people gathered on the promontory. After Cook's journey, Aboriginal people composed songs to commemorate the event. This was later recognized as the first oral testimony preserved from the observation of native Europeans. Matthew Flinders sailed through the island in 1799, and again in 1802, this time landed on Sandy Cape, mapping Hervey Bay. The 1814 chart is a combination of both trips, but it does not confirm Fraser Island as separate from the mainland. However, Flinders does suggest the existence of a shallow marshy area at the bottom of the bay. Flinders was told about the opening at Hook Point, between Fraser Island and the mainland, by two whale-hunting whales in Hervey Bay. In 1842, Andrew Petrie recorded good land and pastoral forest, attracting sheep breeders to the area. Lieutenant Robert Dayman was the first European to sail between Fraser Island and the mainland in 1847.
Border conflict
British herders began to enter the area in 1847 and local Aboriginal residents initially showed their resistance by stealing their cargo and small boats. They also tried to prevent the formation of a town near Maryborough by attacking George Furber as he built the first warehouse there. In 1850, in response to their occupied land, Aboriginal people in the Mary River area killed the shepherds, gathered hundreds of sheep and brought them to their strongholds on Fraser Island. In 1851, Commander Frederick Walker and British Colonial Civilian Police Forces were summoned to liquidate Fraser Island as a refuge for Native insubordination. Walker accepts the advice of New South Wales Attorney General John Hubert Plunkett that war-like victims are acceptable in this case and that registration of special police (eg armed volunteers) to assist in missions is permissible.
Walker, with Lieutenant Richard Marshall and Sergeant Doolan, carried three divisions of their troops, along with armed settlers including James Leith Hay, down the Mary River on board the Captain Currie, Margaret and Mary climbers. Aborigines on stolen ships were shot along the road and one boat was confiscated. The troops landed on the west coast of the island where a separate division to explore the region. The Marshall section shot a number of Badtjala people and arrested several others. Bad weather hampered the operation and Commander Walker then allowed his share to track other Badtjala groups without him. The group pursues Aboriginal natives crossing to the east coast where they collect them into the sea. The troops returned to Maryborough in early January 1852 and Captain Currie received a prize of £ 10 for his contribution.
Despite this large armed invasion, Fraser Island continues to be a safe place for Badtjala and reports from British commissioners stationed in Maryborough say that the threat settlers felt. Following the assassination of George Furber and his partner near Tinana in 1855, the great punitive powers of the armed settlers and the general police were organized to bring about a summary judgment on the people of Fraser Island. In 1857, a Native Police barracks under the command of Lieutenant John O'Connell Bligh was founded in Coopers Plains not far from Maryborough. The proximity of this troop eliminated most of Aboriginal resistance in 1860 with Bligh carrying out bloody attacks on Fraser Island, Cooloola and in Maryborough itself.
The "White Girls" from Fraser Island
In 1859 rumors of two white girls living with indigenous people on Fraser Island gained confidence when Captain Arnold of Coquette arrived in Sydney with information apparently confirming his story. Public interest was stirred and Arnold was asked by the government to return to the island with a rescue party, earning the right to a £ 200 bonus if the girls were brought back. The expedition was carried out by the rush of an Aboriginal camp near Indian Head and the arrest of two girls aged between 12 and 18 years, the group fired their guns when the Aborigines tried to get the girls back. When returning to Sydney, it became real through their appearance and because of their lack of knowledge about English that the girls were Aboriginal people. However, to justify the expense, some MPs feel the need to continue the tainted "white girl" story. Further discredit was placed on the process when it was discovered that the Aborigines paid by search parties to find the girls were rewarded in commemorative coins that were worthless than real money. The girls, meanwhile, are named Kitty Mundi and Maria Quoheen. They are housed in an Immigration Depot where they are adequately fed but confined to their mother and infected with influenza. Three years later, instead of returning to Fraser Island, they surrender to the Asylum Sanctuary in Sydney.
Aboriginal intern camp
In 1897, as part of the implementation of the Aboriginal Protection Act, the Queensland Government dispatched 51 economically unproductive Aborigines from the Maryborough district to an isolation camp on the west coast of Fraser Island. The main bureaucrat responsible for the forcible transfer of Aboriginal people in Queensland at the time, Archibald Meston, took 51 men, women and children to a dead quarantine station in White Cliffs (Beerillbee) about 2 km south of today Kingfisher Bay Resort. However, since the white citizens of Maryborough used this area for recreational purposes, a problem occurred that resulted in a further relocation of the Aboriginal tribes 10 km north to Bogaging creek. The Queensland government manages the Bog Pills site under the direction of Archibald Meston's son and wife until February 1900, when control was submitted to the Anglican Mission Board. At this time, Bogimbah has become a detention facility for Aboriginal residents from around the state. By the end of 1899 there were 137 Aboriginal people present from 25 different locations, including some who had served prison terms in places such as St Helena Island and Townsville Gaol and had refused permission to return to their hometown. A former Native Police officer named Barney, who had assisted in the operation to capture Ned Kelly, was sent to Boganian but drowned there shortly after in a boating accident.
Conditions in Bog Poor waste, with inadequate shelter and rations. Prisoners often try to flee to the mainland to gain access to better food and get a job. Some die from malnutrition and get diseases associated with eating clay in an attempt to supplement their slight diet. In 1904, to save funds on the Mission Board, the Queensland Government decided to close the Bog Pills facility. Of the 145 Aboriginal people recorded at the closing, 94 were transferred to the Yarrabah facility near Cairns, 33 to the Durundur facility near Woodford, 9 were kept locally and 9 others escaped or sent elsewhere. Those transferred to Yarrabah are transported by Rio Loge and there appears to be a scam technique involving people to part with loved ones. Once at Yarrabah, the same standard of living greeted these people and those who complained or became "troubled" were exiled to worse conditions on Fitzroy Island.
Logging
Logging on the island began in 1863, initiated by Jack Piggott of America (known as 'Yankee Jack'). Piggott's contributions, however, were limited when he was killed the following year by Aboriginal people in the northern part of the island after what was reported as a "black shooting expedition" became chaotic. Blackbutt Tree ( Eucalyptus pilularis ), kauri Queensland ( Agathis robusta ) and satinay or Fraser Island turpentine ( Syncarpia hillii ) are extensively exploited because they provide excellent wood. Satinay log logs are sent to Egypt for use in the construction of the Suez Canal. During the first 70 years of harvesting, bullock drays are used to transport timber to the loading point on the beach. The railway is laid in the forest to facilitate logging, but then it is moved. The logging industry continued until 1991, ceasing to follow the concerns raised by the Commission of Inquiry into the Conservation, Management and Use of Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Region, designated by the Labor government and chaired by Judge Tony Fitzgerald.
Sand mining
The island's geological wealth lies in its rich rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monasitic deposits. The lease of sand mining was first awarded in 1950, and mining continued until 1977. Unbeknownst to the public, the Queensland Government granted a mining lease to American mining company Dillingham-Murphyores in the 1960s. In 1971, Fraser Island Defense Organization (FIDO) opposed giving more leases to the company. Although there were more than 1,300 submissions made to local mining guards who objected to the new lease, the submission was granted. FIDO took the case to the High Court of Australia who rejected a decision stating that the public interest was not enforced. Dillingham-Murphyores continues mining. The Whitlam government made the first environmental investigation of Australia's impact that recommended mining stop. Finally Malcolm Fraser canceled the company's mineral export license that stopped mining on the island. This is a significant victory for the conservation movement in Australia. Fraser Island became the first place to be included in the National Heritage Register of Australian Citizenship.
Carcass Maheno
The main marker on Fraser Island is the shipwreck S.S. Maheno . The Maheno was built in Scotland in 1905 as a luxury passenger ship for trans-Tasman crossing. During the First World War he served as a hospital ship in the English Channel, and then returned to his owner to resume his usual commercial operations. In 1935 the ship was removed and sold to ship-breakers in Japan. On June 25, 1935, when pulled to Osaka for dismantling, he was caught in a powerful cyclone about 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast of Queensland. The drag bridge was opened, and on July 9, 1935, Maheno washed up on the east coast of Fraser Island.
During the Second World War, the shipwreck served as a target bombing exercise for the RAAF and was used as a target for the demolition of explosives by special forces from the Fraser Commando School. The remains of the ship are now very rusty, with nearly three and a half floors buried under the sand. Due to the danger it creates, climbing over the wreck is not allowed.
Fraser Commando School
During World War II, the area near McKenzie Pier was used by the Department of Reconnaissance Service (known as "Special Unit Z") as a special forces training camp - the Fraser Commando School. Thousands of soldiers are trained here because the conditions are similar to those found in the Pacific Islands where the Japanese are fighting. Lake McKenzie is used for parachute training and the Maheno shipwrecks are used for explosive dismantling exercises.
Visitors to the Fraser Commando School site today can still see a variety of relics of the military past including armor plates used to test armor piercing explosive and weapon charges and concrete aid maps from the Port of Singapore used as assistance in planning operations.
Nauru resettlement proposition
As part of an ongoing meeting at the United Nations Board of Trustees on Conditions in the Trusting Territory, the Republic of Nauru expressed concern that its phosphate mining exports would be exhausted by the end of the century, jeopardizing the future. the island. In 1961, Fraser Island was proposed by Australia as the location for the resettlement of the entire population of the Republic of Nauru. The timber industry on Fraser Island succeeded in ensuring that the resettlement on Fraser Island was not continued. In 1964 at the 31st session of the United Nations Trusteeship Council, it was concluded that Curtis Island could provide a more satisfactory resettlement for the inhabitants of Nauru. Nauru rejected the offer to move the entire population to Curtis Island due to consideration of political independence that was not approved by Australia. While visiting the island in 1964, the head of the Nauru delegation, Hammer de Roburt, insisted on this point of sovereignty to protect his people from the blatant racism he himself experienced on this tour. Although resettlement never took place, the Nauru Republic went on to achieve independence on 31 January 1968.
Tourism
Estimated number of visitors to the island each year ranges from 350,000 to 500,000. The opportunity to see dingo in its natural setting is one of the main reasons people visit the island. The use of sidewalks and tracks marked by visitors is encouraged to reduce erosion.
Tourists tourists have created environmental problems in the lakes of Fraser Island and in the coastal sand dunes. The foredunes are used as toilets by bush campers, which are estimated to amount to 90,000 each year. Many lake perches have no outflow or inflows that exacerbate the problem. Water quality in some lakes is influenced by rainwater flow from dune roads, and by the use of sunscreen by swimmers.
In April 2009, a vehicle overturned on the beach after being hit by waves. Two backpackers were killed in the accident. Following the incident speed limit on the beach is reduced from 100 km/h to 80 km/h, and from 40 km/h to 30 km/h to the mainland. Everyone who rents a vehicle on the island from an organization accredited by the Fraser Coast 4WD Operator Association must attend an hour's briefing on vehicle safety.
"Central Station", which was once the center of the forest industry when there was logging on Fraser Island, is now a popular tourist destination. Some of the rarest ferns grow in the rainforest near the site.
Access
The island can be reached by ferry from River Heads (South of Hervey Bay) to Kingfisher Bay and Wanggoolba Creek or Inskip Point to northern Rainbow Beach to Hook Point, or with chartered flights from Maroochydore Airport.
Four wheel drive is required for all landings (except Kingfisher Bay), and travel on the island (except inside Kingfisher Bay Resort). Permission is required for vehicles and can be obtained on-line from DERM and some outlets at Rainbow Beach. Some companies provide four-wheel drive vehicles for rent. Tour buses around the island as well as several types of self-guided tours that depart regularly from Hervey Bay, Rainbow Beach, and Noosa.
Angling
Tailors are one of the most common species sought by anglers on Fraser Island and along the coast of Queensland. Other fish caught on the east coast include jewfish, golden donkeys and surf waves, while whiting, flathead and surf bream prefer quieter western waters. Pilchards, bloodworms, yabbies, cheeks and sandworm all can be used for bait. Fishing is prohibited in rivers and lakes on the island.
Camping
There are many campers on Fraser Island with various facilities and access. The main campsites are: Dundubara Camp, Fraser Cathedral, Waddy Point Camp, Central Station Kemah Site, Waddy Beach (campsite only tent), Corn Break (large group site), One Tree Rocks (Eurong-One Tree Rocks) However, there are others. Permission is required for camping and also for vehicle access.
Hiking
There are possibilities for overnight hiking on the island. The most famous is Fraser Island Great Walk along 90 km. A shorter rise would be an example to start at Kingfisher Bay (takeoff ferry) and head to Lake McKenzie, stay there for one night, and then climb back up.
See also
- Queensland geography
- Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve
- John Sinclair (environmentalist)
- List of islands in Australia
- Tourism in Australia
References
External links
- Fraser Island From the Air
- The Department of Environment's Official Website and Resource Management for more information and camping permissions
- List of world heritage for Fraser Island
- Great Sandy Biosphere
- University of Queensland: Queensland Place: Fraser Island
- Satellite image of S.S. Maheno from Google Maps
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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