24/05/2026
For a long time, the brumbies of Fraser Island have been spoken about more than they’ve been understood.
They are usually reduced to a simple label — feral horses — and treated as if they appeared by accident, did their damage and were rightly removed. What is rarely explored is how they got there in the first place, why they persisted for so long and what their presence actually tells us about the island’s working past.
In this month's blog, I’ve tried to write something more careful and more honest.
The story begins by outlining why the horses were introduced, such as breeding them for imperial military service and hauling logs in the timber industry. The story then outlines the slow, unplanned transition from working animal to free-ranging survivor once their usefulness ended, and responsibility slipped away.
Drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts, forestry records, Fred Williams’ Equine Epitaph and the memories of people who lived, worked and holidayed on the island, this blog traces how a deliberately introduced and heavily worked horse population became redefined as an ecological problem and quietly removed.
This is not a sentimental defence of the brumbies, nor an argument that they should still be there. It is an attempt to restore proportion and historical context to a story that has too often been misinterpreted.
If you’re interested in Fraser Island’s history beyond the usual slogans and in how landscapes remember work long after policy forgets it, I think you’ll find this worth your time.
You can read the full story at this link - https://www.robertonfray.com/2026/05/22/a-working-legacy-of-the-fraser-island-brumbies/
