K'gari (Fraser Island) Research Collection

The K'gari (Fraser Island) Research Collection comprises a number of sub-collections of material related to Fraser Island, and curated by the USC Sunshine Coast Library. The collection consists of printed and digitised material including research datasets, photographs, correspondence, papers, manuscripts and reports. The John Sinclair Archival Collection, the inaugural collection within the Fraser Island Research Collection, contains archival material and photographs documenting Fraser Island from 1799 to 2000. The focus of this collection is the research background to the Fraser Island environmental protection campaigns of the 1970s and 1990s. Material also relates to the Fraser Island Defenders Organisation, FIDO. Development of this collection is ongoing. The Fraser Island Research Collection is supported by print material in the USC Library Collection and a continuing online bibliography of published research into Fraser Island. The online bibliography is compiled through regular scanning of online research databases. Much of the collection is available online, with the restricted copies available onsite at the USC Sunshine Coast Library. The significance of the Fraser Island Research Collection is its focus on the natural history of Fraser Island and includes a large historical photographic collection. The print copies of the transcripts and research evidence presented to the Fraser Island Environmental Inquiry in 1976 provide a valuable resource in history and ecology. The collections are made possible by the proximity of USC Sunshine Coast to the research opportunities on Fraser Island.