A new dingo fence recently built around a popular Fraser Island campground has been welcomed by visitors and residents.
The $375,000 construction is designed to keep wild dogs from interacting with people at the Cathedral Beach Resort campground on the island’s east coast.
The fence took three months to complete and is 1800 metres long.
“Dingoes visit this location and have entered the campground seeking food and damaging visitors’ camping gear,” said Steve Price from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. “The new fence encircles the campground and makes it almost impossible for a dingo to access campsites.”
The new fence complements fenced QPWS campgrounds at Central Station, Dundubara and Waddy Point, as well as other privately operated fenced campgrounds at K’gari and Dilli Village and resorts at Eurong and Kingfisher Bay.
“While the fence gives the Cathedral Beach campground a new level of security, visitors should not lessen their caution when on Fraser Island,” said Mr Price. “Fraser Island’s dingoes are not domestic pets, they are wild animals and they must always be treated as such.”
Locals and campers have been calling for more fencing on the island after several attacks, including a fatal one on Clinton Gage, 9, in 2001. The fence was one of the Queensland Government’s commitments to improving safety following the independent review of the Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy in 2012.
Mr Price said educating visitors and residents was also an important safety tool, and QPWS had recently installed a new dingo information shelter at Central Station.
Mr Price said people must always adopt dingo-safe behaviour while on the island and in particular should:
Do you feel happier camping behind a dingo fence? Comment below.
Residents have accepted the fence as a necessary evil, it protects the dingoes from irresponsible campers. Remember you are a visitor, respect our wildlife, they live there, you don’t. Locals never feel threatened or intimidated by the dingoes.. If you abide by the rules you wont either. Cheryl,,Hervey Bay.
Wild dingoes not in such close contact regularly with humans are more enigmatic, leaving tracks near your camp overnight and only occasional sightings. I wonder how they are going with the interactions on Fraser Islands beaches?
There have been no incidents recently, but dingoes being inquisitive, often visit the campers and fishers, most don’t mind and consider it a privilege, but of course there is always the exception who report the dingo…
Agree with your first comment Cheryl, I have seen young kids on all fours in front of a Dingo “Barking” at them ? while the parent stands by and watches !!
They are the ones who will make the loudest complaint if[when] something goes wrong, after 15 years camping on Fraser we / I have never had an issue.
It’s amazing how times change. A long time ago as an 8-9 year old, I lived with my family at the Sandy Cape Lighthouse station on Fraser Island, where my father was one of two lighthouse keepers. The two families (including 4 children) living on the station enjoyed a very comfortable existence with the dingo population for as long as we were there. This era was long before tourism, the only “resort” some 144 km to the south was from memory, Happy Valley. We never had any direct contact with these beautiful, majestic animals. We respected their habitat as they did ours. We were able to observe healthy dingo families with their beautiful cubs and watch their day to day activities.They would visit the station, particularly at night and the haunting dingo howls were common but did not disturb us, rather we found their presence just part of our daily lifestyle. Fast forward 50+ years and these once proud animals are now scratching for food and they have been banished from their habitat. I cherish the memories and the privilege of living with these beautiful animals and the lifestyle we lived. My childhood memories encourages me now to travel our vast and beautiful land and I would never be afraid of a dingo.