"According to Aboriginal legend, humans were created and needed a place to live, the mighty god Beiral sent his messenger Yendingie with the goddess K'gari down from heaven to create the land and the mountains, rivers and sea.
K'gari fell in love with the earth's beauty and did not want to leave it. So, Yendingie changed her into a heavenly island - Fraser Island." Wikipedia.


Leaden clouds rolled towards K'gari, threatening rain. Wind whipped white sand and bent sea-grasses low. Still, the tourists raced along the pristine beach with their four-wheel drives, tearing up K'gari face.

Old man Dingo rested his shaggy head on his paws -- well out of reach of crazy humans. The seething mass of protoplasm, called humans, had taken his homeland.
Kirree sighed as he watched his beach torn apart by metal boxes; not knowing what they were. He did know the terrible noise and smells of petrol and diesel.

Some times he wandered the human campsites feeding on food thrown to him by tourists. The smell of meat cooking was enough to entice a pack of Dingos. He was sick of foraging for insects and small animals. Handouts from humans at least filled his belly. His pack had become bolder around tourists and in the last three months two human children had been killed by his pack.

Small children had been easy prey to pack Dingo; starving animals will attack for food. Of course, the penalty was death. Rangers hunted the dogs responsible and shot them. According to white-man's law, if a dog attacked a human then he was a dead dog.

Kirree lifted his old head and sneezed.

"I smell you little ones," he panted.

"Grandfather, we are hungry," the pups squeaked at old man Dingo.

"You pups always hungry. How about I tell you a story?" Kirree rose and stretched his arthritic limbs. "About the time when our mob roamed free and plenty tucker on K'gari."

The pups looked wide-eyed at their grandfather. They settled down, listening intently as Kirree began to tell of the Dingo Dreamtime.

"Long time ago when Great Spirit made K'gari, He made all the tribes like the Badtjala people, covered the island with good tucker like Kangaroo, Emu, Wombat and lots of things, I can't remember now, even brumbies ran wild," the old Dingo's eyes misted over with thoughts of the past when their bellies were fat and they were content.

"We get along fine with Badtjala mob, Dingo come to camps and stay with Badtjala -- camp dogs they were called. People loved Dingo ancestors and fed them in bad times." A tear rolled down his grey muzzle.

The pups had become bored with the old dog's ramblings and decided to go play with the rest of their mob. Kirree slept through the noise of the tourists and he dreamed of the old days when he was a camp dog. The tribe would go out hunting wild brumbies and kangaroos and he would trot behind the men. Of course these were just stories passed down to him of the dreamtime. He wasn't old enough to be an ancestor. He was just a Dingo Elder.

The sound of white men woke Kirree as they stumbled through the underbrush.

"Hey, you see that old dog laying there?" said one Ranger.
"Don't worry about him, he's got no teeth and he's ready for the graveyard," the second Ranger roared with laughter.

"Bloody tourists need to keep a leash on their kids, now we out searching for another one." The men stumbled on towards Lake Mackenzie (Boorangoora) and the Champagne Pools( Moora Buthu)

The cool, clear waters of the fresh water lake, had sustained the native animals and Indigenous tribes since the beginning of time. The Badtjala tribe used to bring their children to swim and frolic in her waters. No more. The white settlers had taken the land and all the clear lakes - what was left of the Badtjala tribe had been scattered to the four winds. Some men had left the island in chains and the women had become housemaids for the white boss-men.

After the brumbies were shipped over to the mainland, the Dingo had no real meat except kangaroo and small marsupials. They became too lean and mean towards the white tourists. The tourists still think they are just dogs and try to coax them like you would coax a domestic dog. Terrible stories of visitors being savaged by the Dingo or, as said previously, two children were killed by the starving dogs.

The Dingo population is dwindling and there doesn't seem to be any answers to their future. Locally, near to where I live, there is a Wildlife Sanctuary. The owners have just bred a white Dingo and it seems the only way to preserve these animals is to keep them safe from humans.

Tourists come to Fraser (K'gari) for its beauty. Lake Wabby (Boomanjin)is a traditional men's business area. Used for the initiation and ceremony sacred to men. Court documents talk about many sightings of bora rings in this area. Within 100 years this area will be gone.

Coloured sands: There are 72 coloured sands for women's business area. The clan responsible for childbirth were taken to this rock by elder women. Taught the skills, which they then passed on to the other women in the Butchulla tribe. I am proud to have a friend from that tribe.

The Butchulla people had six different clan on K'gari and her people occupied the area called Central Station. Woonamutta was the "clever man" of the tribe, his family were involved in doctoring and initiation. Woonamutta (Jack Noble) was the black tracker who hunted down one of our most famous bush rangers, Ned Kelly. He was present at Kelly's capture in 1880. Woonamutta returned to Fraser Island (Butchulla country) where he resumed his traditional way of life, fishing, gathering and hunting lifestyle.

Wanggoolba Creek (Central Station) was a Butchulla women's area where birthing took place. Men were excluded. This area became the site for forestry and logging operations from 1920 until the late fifties.

Takky Wooroo (Indian Head) where tears were shed by the Butchulla people when the massacre took place and still today, the people weep for their ancestors.

Captain Cook (good old white fella', sent by King George 111) to take whatever land he could steal.) Dat good old white fella' landed on K'gari in 1770. He sighted the Butchulla people, offering trinkets to the tribe. The tribe stood on the foreshore, frightened by the sight of Cook and his crew. Little did the Butchulla people know what was to be their fate at the hands of the white men.

The white men took the strongest blacks for work groups and they were chained together. The rest of the tribe, old people, women and children were marched to the rocky outcrop, called Takky Wooroo (Indian Heads) and forced to jump into the sea.

Takky Wooroo (Indian Heads) remains a most sacred place for the Butchulla tribe. In 2014 Fraser Island was handed back to the various tribes.Today, plans are being made to keep tourists off the rocky outcrop. To protect the most spiritual place where their ancestors perished.

Present Day:

Kirree yawned, stood up, and shook sand off his mangy coat. Looking around, he wondered where he was?

"C'mon, old fella, tucker time." Wildlife Ranger John called to Kirree.

"Must have been dreamin' thought I was home on K'gari, never mind, tucker pretty good this place. Wildlife Sanctuary, no worries, nice bed and that female over there...she nice young Dingo. My pups drive me bonkers!"

The Wildlife Sanctuary caters for all native animals at risk - John Walker worked as a ranger on Fraser Island and has a passion for saving the dingo.