Photograph: imagebroker/Alamy. Retrieved from theguardian.com

Excerpt from theguardian.com

For almost 200 years, the world’s largest sand island has been known as Fraser Island. But for the Butchulla people, it has and always will be known as K’gari.

On Wednesday, hundreds of traditional owners gathered in the ancient forests of K’gari as rain drenched the sand, washing away the island’s colonial title.

Smoke from a nearby fire wafted through the towering trees as the Butchulla people danced and sang, celebrating the official reinstatement of the island’s name to K’gari (pronounced gurri).

“K’gari is having a cry because it’s a special day,” said Butchulla man, Conway Burns.

Gayle Minniecon, chair of the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation, said the new title – which translates to paradise in the local language – is “just amazing”.

“I bet there aren’t many that don’t have tears in their eyes at the moment,” she said.

“We have chased away the bad spirits and now have the protection of the good spirits.”

Each year hundreds of thousands of people visit the island, which possesses half the world’s freshwater dune lakes and is renowned for its dingo population.