AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA.

Island Jewels.
Fraser Island, Queensland.
Fourth stamp in a set of 6, issued on 05.03.2007.
Face value: 1.95 Australian dollars.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Size: 37 x 26 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 2786.
- Scott No. 2630.
- Seven Seas Stamps No. 2439.
- StampWorld No. 2599.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2772.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 2668.

Fraser Island (in Batjala language, K'gari, which means "Paradise") is located along the southeastern coast in the Wide Bay-Burnett region, Queensland. Its area is 250 km² (160 sq mi), its length is 123 km (76 mi) and its maximum width is 22 km (14 mi). In 2016 its stable population was 182 people. The island is made up of sand that has accumulated over some 750,000 years in a volcanic bedrock. It has more than 200 small lakes, and its eastern part is crossed by the Coongul Creek (visible on the stamp). Unlike many sand dunes, vegetal life is abundant due to the natural mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients that can be absorbed by plants, especially eucalyptus, mangroves and marine heaths; there is also a remarkable zoological life, with more than 25 species of mammals, 74 of reptiles and more than 350 of birds. The island is also characterized by peat swamps and sand dunes. It was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992. The island's name comes from Eliza Fraser, a survivor of a shipwreck taken in 1836 in by the Butchulla originally inhabitants.