• Skip to main content
  • Skip to site footer
img MENU MEMBERSHIP img
  • Home
  • Donate
  • Join
  • Login
img
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • History
    • Values
    • Advocacy
    • Partners
    • People
  • Get Involved
    • What You Can Do
    • State Chapters
    • Become a Member
    • Donate
  • Resources
    • Photo Gallery
    • Conferences
    • Courses
  • Latest News
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
  • Blog
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
Australian Coastal Society

Australian Coastal Society

We are the voice of the Australian coast

FRASER ISLAND or KGARI

April 17, 2016
Main Image

FRASER ISLAND or KGARI

Main Image

Fraser Island (pc: australia.com)

It is now 41 years since I first set foot on Fraser Island also known as Kgari. The occasion was the Fraser Island Environmental Inquiry established by the then Prime Minister and Minister for Environment, Gough Whitlam, on 12 July 1975, under the new Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974-75. In fact I was the first person to be subpoenaed under this Act to appear before such an Inquiry. This meant the Australian National University which then employed me was able to effectively dispense with my services for a period at the pleasure of the two Commissioners, John Hookey and Arthur Hicks.

The purpose of the Inquiry was to assess environmental aspects of the making of decisions by and on behalf of the Australian Government in relation to the exportation from Australia of heavy minerals (especially rutile and zircon) from Fraser Island. Of interest, the Inquiry forwarded its recommendation to the new Fraser Government after events of 11 November 1975 with the first report being sent to the new Minister for Environment, Andrew Peacock on 1 December, 1975. This report recommended amongst other things that Fraser Island be recorded as part of the National Estate. Later decisions by this Government led to the cessation of mining  on Fraser Island and  eventually to the Island receiving World Heritage status in 1992.

It is a great story told many times, but from my perspective would not have been possible without the incredible efforts of . It was John who gathered the Inquiry team, media and others like me to the Island in mid-1975. He had established FIDO, the Fraser Island Defence Organisation, now referred to as the “watchdog of Fraser Island”. John was able to show us the highlights of island landforms and ecology having spent years before wandering all around with family and friends. He had brought together a like-minded group determined to prevent miners from desecrating the dunal landscape. But it came at great cost. Many in the local community were supportive of mining as was the then Queensland Government. As a result there was personal conflict and great community tensions. John continued on relentlessly and today edits MOONBI, the newsletter of FIDO. I have recently received MOONBI 133 which keeps me informed of the current work of this organisation as it struggles to protect the island’s natural integrity and World Heritage values.

My role at the 1975 Inquiry was to offer the Commission an outline of the island’s geomorphology from both an Australian coastal  and global context. It was not an easy task seeing that this was my first visit! However, I had several advantages: first, I was reasonably familiar with coastal literature at the time; second I was engaged in coastal research to the south; and third, the mining company and the Queensland Government had decided not to take part in the Inquiry so I did not get cross-examined. It was a grand opportunity to inspect the dunes of different ages with their distinctive soil and vegetation patterns so well described later by Cliff Thompson and others. I felt very privileged to help the Commissioners understand some of these matters backing up the fine interpretations of Sinclair.

In recent years I have advocated that part of Kgari be dedicated as a science reserve. The dunes are sensitive to environmental shifts as seen from its long history. Much could be made of detailed monitoring of its natural assets to see how it is responding to climate change. I can see quite a number of sensitive places that are likely to change condition over time. In the meantime it is pleasing to hear that the ARC is supportive of more detailed geomorphic work in providing funds to Shulmeister, Hesp, Graziela Miot da Silva and others. New dating and other techniques should enable expansion of the knowledge base that has accumulated since the 70s.

John Sinclair has stated that FIDO, now 45 years old, is changing its role from advocacy to more on-ground work and collaborating with other groups and agencies to achieve better outcomes; there is so much to do on Kgari and interested readers should consult the FIDO website, www.fido.org.au, on impacts of tourism and other pressures and what can be done to improve management processes and practices.


Words by Prof Bruce Thom. Please respect Bruce Thom’s thoughts and reference where appropriately: (c) ACS, 2016, posted 17th April 2016, for correspondence about this blog post please email admin@australiancoastalsociety.org.

By

ACS Communications Officer |

Sunday, April 17, 2016 |

  • Blog
Category: Blog
Previous Post:Main ImageSouth Australian Recreation Fishing Review
Next Post:Biggest Funding Boost to Coastal Management since 1970s

Sidebar

2022 (24)
  • Thursday, December 22 Protecting Nature: Art of the Impossible?
  • Tuesday, December 13 Drainage Window Concept
  • Thursday, November 24 Cootamundra Shoals Survey 1982
  • Thursday, November 10 US Coastal Zone Management Act 1972: A Model for Australia?
  • Wednesday, October 26 Great Barrier Reef—More or Less Gloom
  • Wednesday, October 12 Bondi Pavilion Reopened and Rejuvenated
  • Wednesday, September 28 Coastal Journey Begins: September 1962
  • Monday, September 12 Protection For Sydney Harbour: Berrys Bay Case
  • Thursday, August 25 Coastal Inundation: A Hazard Not to be Underestimated
  • Tuesday, August 9 Beach Access – An International Perspective
  • Wednesday, July 27 SoE 2021 and Coasts
  • Tuesday, July 19 Human Rights and Beaches
  • Wednesday, July 6 Coastal Walks and Local Councils
  • Thursday, June 23 EPBC Act and Regional Landscape and Resilience Plans
  • Wednesday, June 15 29th NSW Coastal Conference
  • Thursday, May 19 Lament for Estuaries? (0)
  • Wednesday, April 27 East Coast Floods 2022 (0)
  • Monday, April 11 East Coast Weather ‘Traffic Jam’ (0)
  • Tuesday, March 29 VALE: PAUL BISHOP (0)
  • Thursday, March 24 IPCC Throws Down the Gauntlet on Australian Institutional Deficiencies
  • Friday, February 25 Recent federal coastal initiatives – February 2022
  • Tuesday, February 8 Resourceful ‘lucky’ country
  • Friday, January 28 FUTURE EARTH AUSTRALIA: SUSTAINABLE OCEANS AND COASTS NATIONAL STRATEGY 2021-2030
  • Monday, January 10 Sunflowers and hope
2021 (27)
  • Wednesday, December 22 DISCOVERING MORUYA 1971-2021
  • Sunday, December 12 PROTECTING A BIG CITY: NEW YORK DECISION MAKING
  • Wednesday, December 1 ICA REPORT: CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT “ACTIONS OF THE SEA” AND FUTURE RISKS
  • Friday, November 12 NATIONAL CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION STRATEGY (NCRAS)
  • Thursday, October 28 COASTAL FAMILY—THE ELIOTS
  • Sunday, October 10 COASTAL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: ROLES FOR THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
  • Monday, September 27 Sydney Harbour: Impact of contamination studies
  • Friday, September 17 Geological indicators of seabed mobility – Narrabeen Beach (Sydney, Australia)
  • Monday, August 30 LAST INTERGLACIAL SEA LEVELS: RECENT RESEARCH AND MEET “STROMBUS BUBONIUS”
  • Wednesday, August 18   COASTAL NEWS – AUGUST 2021
  • Monday, July 19 Reflections on past coastal recommendations by the Australian Government
  • Monday, July 5 LARGS: A GEOHERITAGE SITE?
  • Thursday, June 24 PROPERTY RIGHTS: WHAT CONDITIONS PREVAIL IN A CIVIL SOCIETY?
  • Monday, June 14 UNIVERSITY RESEARCH—PERSONAL SADNESS
  • Saturday, May 29 SEAHORSE MONITORING BY WOOLLAHRA COUNCIL, NSW
  • Tuesday, May 18 US Climate Indicators
  • Saturday, May 8 AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT MARINE AND COAST INITIATIVES 2021
  • Sunday, April 25 Travelling west of the sandstone curtain – to Orange (NSW) and back
  • Tuesday, April 20 Big surf at Port Fairy (Victoria) – April 2021
  • Thursday, April 8 LAND: OWNERSHIP AND RIGHTS
  • Sunday, March 14 ESTUARY WETLANDS AND SEA-LEVEL RISE
  • Saturday, February 20 COASTAL ZONE AND CATCHMENT BOUNDARIES
  • Sunday, February 14 Coastal Archaeology Revisited
  • Saturday, January 30 JUDITH WRIGHT – POET, COASTAL CONSERVATIONIST AND MUCH MORE
  • Monday, January 18 COASTAL STORIES FROM THE FIELD,1970-2020
  • Monday, January 11 US COASTAL MANAGEMENT UNDER TRUMP
  • Monday, January 4 2020: A COASTAL PERSPECTIVE
2020 (26)
  • Wednesday, December 23 EPBC ACT CHANGES –WILL THEY BE WORTH THE EFFORT?
  • Monday, December 14 TWO JIMS—BOWLER AND COLEMAN
  • Thursday, November 26 AUSTRALIA UNDER THREAT—WHAT TO DO NEXT?
  • Saturday, November 7 SHORELINE RESPONSES TO SEA-LEVEL RISE
  • Sunday, October 25 Port Stephens-Myall Lakes 1960 – Research Opportunities
  • Wednesday, October 14 Port Stephens – Myall Lakes 1960 – the journey.
  • Monday, September 28 LEGACY ISSUES AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT
  • Friday, September 11 TYPHOONS AND HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA
  • Tuesday, September 1 Impact of sea-level rise on coastal natural values in Tasmania
  • Saturday, August 29 ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES REMAIN THREATENED
  • Thursday, August 6 HAMELIN POOL (Shark Bay, Western Australia) —AN ESTUARY?
  • Thursday, July 16 Estuary Health
  • Friday, July 3 UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND TEACHING—THE NEXUS IS IT BROKEN?
  • Sunday, June 21 Sandy beach morphodynamics – a new book
  • Sunday, June 7 Cliffs in the Narrabeen Group, Sydney
  • Thursday, May 21 PROGNOSIS FOR A CHOKING MOUTH: THE RIVER MURRAY
  • Wednesday, May 6 Geomorphologic Mapping
  • Wednesday, April 22 DOVER HEIGHTS CLIFFS, SYDNEY
  • Sunday, April 12 Recent Coastal Legal Cases
  • Tuesday, March 24 CHALLENGE AND RESPONSE—THE CURRENT CRISIS
  • Wednesday, March 18 Recent papers in the journal Nature
  • Thursday, February 27 HOLOCENE SEA LEVELS AND COASTAL EVOLUTION
  • Monday, February 17 Brian Caton ‘a coastal legend’- RIP 9 February 2020
  • Tuesday, February 4 NATIONAL COASTAL ADAPTATION AGENDA 2010: A RETROSPECTIVE
  • Wednesday, January 22 TIME FOR ADAPTATION ACTION
  • Friday, January 10 EAST COAST FLOODS 2022 (0)
2019 (29)
  • Monday, December 30 Parsley Bay in the Summer
  • Monday, November 25 Australian Coastal Systems: A New Book from Andy Short
  • Tuesday, November 19 South Australian 2019 Coastal Conference and the ACS AGM
  • Wednesday, November 6 28th Annual NSW Coastal Conference – Terrigal, 2019
  • Sunday, October 27 Coastal Incidents
  • Tuesday, October 8 Coastal morphostratigraphy: two papers from Denmark
  • Friday, September 27 Climate Change Attribution
  • Tuesday, September 10 Vale Jack Davies at age 97 – leader, teacher and mentor
  • Wednesday, September 4 Coastal erosion and accretion beyond the historical timescale in NSW
  • Monday, August 19 Rethinking Landscape in Aotearoa
  • Friday, August 2 Collaborative Science and Coastal Adaptation
  • Saturday, July 20 CLIMATE CHANGE AND RELATIVITY – SOME PARALLELS
  • Sunday, July 14 DOUGLAS W. JOHNSON 1919 AND BEYOND
  • Tuesday, July 2 The Sandiford Line
  • Saturday, June 22 A Curiosity of Cusps
  • Monday, June 3 Federal Election 2019 and Coasts
  • Monday, May 13 Mangrove Generations
  • Sunday, May 5 John Sinclair of K’Gari (Fraser Island) 1939 – 2019
  • Monday, April 22 The Mighty Ord
  • Thursday, March 28 Climate change adaptation: perspectives from Canada and England
  • Monday, March 18 Foreshore land grants in eastern Sydney
  • Friday, March 15 The right to bath on the beach
  • Wednesday, March 6 Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program
  • Thursday, February 21 Future national need for a healthy environment
  • Wednesday, February 13 ANZGG CONFERENCE AT INVERLOCH, VICTORIA
  • Wednesday, February 6 Coastal science and the Murray River mouth
  • Saturday, February 2 INDIA COASTAL MANAGEMENT
  • Tuesday, January 15 Sydney Harbour Sea Fog – Summer of 2018/2019
  • Saturday, January 5 COASTAL RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION
2018 (31)
  • Monday, December 17 CLIFF-TOP DUNES
  • Saturday, December 15 The whereabouts of climate change adaptation
  • Sunday, December 2 Observations from a long time marine debris collector.
  • Sunday, December 2 Backbarrier flats – a relic coastal landform
  • Monday, November 19 King Tides in Venice
  • Wednesday, November 14 27TH NSW COASTAL CONFERENCE 2018
  • Monday, November 12 Is the coast losing out with NRM? Proposed changes for South Australia
  • Saturday, November 3 Slicks (Part 2)
  • Tuesday, October 16 Twofold Bay – A Great Coastal Laboratory
  • Sunday, October 7 VALE: Professor John Chappell FAA (1940-2018)
  • Thursday, September 27 Coasts and Legal Systems
  • Sunday, September 16 Moods of Sydney Harbour
  • Sunday, August 26 Community Consultation
  • Saturday, August 18 Managing water quality through regenerative agriculture
  • Friday, August 3 Tomorrow’s Coasts – Complex and Impermanent
  • Thursday, July 12 Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission
  • Monday, July 2 New South Wales Coastal Reforms – NSW Coastal Council’s first meeting
  • Tuesday, June 26 Victoria’s Coastal Reforms – ‘fit for purpose’ or an opportunity lost?
  • Wednesday, June 20 New SA Government promises improved coastal management
  • Thursday, June 14 OCCUPATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF
  • Wednesday, May 30 National Budgets – Some Thoughts
  • Wednesday, May 16 Guiding Principles for Marine and Coastal Management
  • Friday, May 4 Last Interglacial Marine Deposits at Mary Ann Bay, Tasmania
  • Sunday, April 29 Coast to Coast Hobart 2018
  • Thursday, April 5 Coastal Reforms in New South Wales – The Next Stage
  • Monday, March 26 Coastal Archaeology
  • Monday, March 12 Barrier Islands – An American Obsession?
  • Monday, February 26 Climate Change Adaptation in Australia – A Loss of Momentum
  • Thursday, February 15 Bruce Thom Blog – SUMMERAMA
  • Wednesday, January 31 King tides and extreme events
  • Sunday, January 14 Coastal Geomorphology 101
2017 (39)
  • Friday, December 29 Bruce Thom Blog – Speaking Truth to Power
  • Wednesday, December 20 National Surfing Reserves
  • Thursday, December 14 Beachrock
  • Saturday, December 9 Higher Tides
  • Monday, December 4 Keeping the Murray Mouth open
  • Monday, November 27 Victorian Coastal Management in 2017
  • Thursday, November 16 26th NSW Coastal Conference at Port Stephens
  • Thursday, October 26 Ancestral rivers and terraces
  • Monday, October 16 Murray Valley: a recent visit
  • Wednesday, October 11 The National Construction Code and coastal planning
  • Tuesday, September 19 Geomorphic evolution of Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth
  • Wednesday, September 13 Queensland Coastal Conference 2017 – Ten years in the making
  • Tuesday, September 5 Hurricane Harvey and its implications
  • Friday, September 1 Gippsland (Victoria) and relative sea level rise
  • Sunday, August 27 US Office of Naval Research and the Australian Coast
  • Monday, August 21 Managing the unique wetlands of Gippsland Lakes
  • Thursday, August 10 Lifecycle of coastal environmental law
  • Friday, July 28 Charlie Veron – A Life Underwater
  • Sunday, July 23 Coastal Sediment Management
  • Friday, July 7 Coastal walks -Malabar Headland National Park, Sydney
  • Friday, June 30 Honeycomb Weathering
  • Friday, June 23 Disaster preparedness
  • Wednesday, May 31 Sept-Iles: Managing a migrating foreland
  • Wednesday, May 24 Achievements of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility
  • Saturday, May 13 Coastal Shacks
  • Wednesday, April 26 Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville
  • Thursday, April 20 The Blue Mud Bay case – Aboriginal property rights in the Northern Territory
  • Tuesday, April 4 Botany Bay Sands
  • Saturday, March 25 Wave Energy Resource
  • Wednesday, March 15 Clustering of Storms
  • Wednesday, March 15 Cape to Cape: A voyage around Botany Bay
  • Tuesday, March 7 The “Venice Effect”
  • Monday, February 27 Port Stephens Bioherms
  • Thursday, February 9 Coast Ambassadors
  • Friday, February 3 Coastal Graphics
  • Tuesday, January 31 Irukandji on the move
  • Tuesday, January 24 Acceleration in mean sea level
  • Wednesday, January 11 Concerns of an American coastal scientist under a Trump presidency
  • Sunday, January 8 EXTREME STORM EVENTS IN THE USA, AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021
  • About us
  • Get involved
  • News and events
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact us

Banner Photography by Pixabay

© 2023 Australian Coastal Society. All Rights Reserved.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • LinkedIn