29/05/2026
𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙀𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙖
𝟯𝟬 𝗠𝗮𝘆 - 𝟭𝟲 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢 marks the 10-year anniversary of Professor Larissa Behrendt’s (Yuwaalaraay/Gamilaroi) seminal book 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢: 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 (2016).
The book interrogates the colonial story of Eliza Fraser, who was purportedly captured by the Butchulla people in 1836 after surviving the shipwreck of the Stirling Castle and the death of her husband, Captain Fraser.
Presented on Butchulla country, the exhibition revisits the story of Eliza Fraser, not to retell her account, but to examine how her version of events was elevated, amplified, and mythologised within colonial culture. These sensationalised narratives cast the Butchulla people as figures of fear and savagery, legitimising violence, dispossession, and massacre, while silencing Butchulla law, knowledge, and lived experience.
At its heart, 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢 recentres Butchulla history, presence, and truth-telling. It foregrounds the voices and perspectives that colonial storytelling worked to erase, asking whose stories were believed, whose were ignored, and why. Rather than treating the past as fixed, the exhibition reveals colonial history as a contested and ongoing narrative, one that continues to shape public memory and power.
In 2023, Fraser Island was officially returned to its traditional name, K’gari—a significant and symbolic milestone that reignited national conversations about the myths and misrepresentations that have long distorted Butchulla history, culture, and presence. This exhibition sits within that broader movement of reclamation, contributing to national conversations about naming, memory, and the enduring authority of First Nations peoples over their own histories.
𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢 has been developed in collaboration with Aboriginal lawyer, writer, and filmmaker Professor Larissa Behrendt and renowned Badtjala/Butchulla artist Dr Fiona Foley, bringing together works by Fiona Foley, Mia Boe, Sidney Nolan, alongside archival materials and historical accounts.
𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗕𝗥𝗚, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝙄𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙇𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙖 𝘽𝙚𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖 𝙁𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙮.
𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟬 𝗠𝗮𝘆, 𝟵:𝟯𝟬𝗮𝗺 - 𝟮:𝟬𝟬𝗽𝗺
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀
🕝️9:30am Welcome to Country
🕝️10:00am Speeches/ Acknowledgements
🕝️10:30am In Conversation: Larissa Behrendt and Fiona Foley
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Image: Fiona Foley, 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 (video still), 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
Find out more via the link below:
https://www.ourfrasercoast.com.au/Hervey-Bay-Regional-Gallery/Whats-On
