This narrative explores the story of British woman Eliza Fraser, shipwrecked on K’gari – Queensland’s Fraser Island – in 1836, through a series of works by Sidney Nolan. Nolan was fascinated by the story of Eliza Fraser’s time spent with the Badtjala people, and his works highlight how Fraser Island has been framed through this story. The often fantastic stories she told fed into the dehumanising colonial narratives surrounding Indigenous people, and influenced the reputation of the Badtjala, who helped her survive. Early Badtjala objects, together with works by Badtjala contemporary artist Fiona Foley, for whom this history remains a constant source of frustration and inspiration, are displayed alongside Sidney Nolan’s paintings.
