Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has renamed a popular Queensland tourist destination, putting itself at odds with state government and the region’s local council.
The federal government agency is now referring to the coastal waters off the Fraser Coast as the K’gari Coast, despite both the Queensland government and the Fraser Coast Regional Council continuing to refer to the area as the Fraser Coast.
An alert on the BOM’s website states that its products and services would progressively be changed so they “refer to K’gari Coast instead of Fraser Island Coast”.
The alert links to the former Palaszczuk government’s 2023 statement that Fraser Island would officially be known as K’gari.
However the statement makes no mention of renaming the Fraser Coast to the K’gari Coast, and a Queensland government website still proudly invites tourists to visit the “Queensland’s Fraser Coast”, describing it as “Queensland’s Marine Mecca”.
“Welcome to our backyard, Queensland’s Fraser Coast. It’s the home of World Heritage-listed natural gems, unique diving experiences, safe and secluded beaches, the number one place to watch humpback whales play and extensive military history,” the Queensland government website states.
The Fraser Coast Regional Council’s website also continues to use the area’s existing name and council sources confirmed to SkyNews.com.au that the area was called the Fraser Coast, not the K’gari Coast.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the BOM defended the name change, saying it provided “consonance”.
“The Bureau of Meteorology uses place names as they appear in the Gazetteer of Australia database of Australia’s place names. It comprises the Official Register of Geographic Names / Gazetteers which are maintained by each Australian State and Territory,” the spokesperson told Skynews.com.au.
“The Queensland government officially renamed K’gari in June 2023. From15 February 2024the Bureau of Meteorology has used K’gari Coast forecast area across our products and services for the coastal waters region formerly known as Fraser Island Coast forecast area.
“This provides consonance between the name of the forecast area and the gazetted name of the major landmark to which it is adjacent.”
The BOM has already implemented the name change across its website, with forecast maps now using “K’gari Coast” as the name for the coastal district stretching from Sandy Cape to Double Island Point.
The forecast district that includes the inland areas of the Fraser Coast continues to be named “Wide Bay and Burnett” district.
