THEY were once a much-loved toy, but became a casualty of the worldwide crusade against racism.

Now golliwogs are making a comeback, with stores along Queensland's tourist strips reporting strong sales, particularly to visitors from abroad.

Nostalgia-driven Baby Boomers, too, are snapping up the black dolls, renamed gollies, as gifts for their grandchildren or reminders of their childhood.

Store owner Deanne Edwards, from Prestige Flowers and Gifts in Hervey Bay, said she sells about 20 a week.

"They're absolutely adorable," said Ms Edwards, who has dozens displayed in her shop window. "We absolutely love them. The kids love them, I love them. They are very, very popular. I sell so many it's not funny."

Hayley Whitford, from Joybells in Caloundra, said many older people had missed the toys of their youth.

"For a lot of our older buyers, it's something from their childhood. They didn't have Wiggles or Dora the Explorer," said Ms Whitford.

But the doll's re-emergence has shocked Queensland's indigenous community who warn their acceptance would be a step back in race relations.

Indigenous elder Bob Weatherall, chairman of the Centre for Indigenous Cultural Policy, is worried about the golliwog's resurgence in Queensland.

Mr Weatherall said the dolls were offensive and should be banned.

"It doesn't bring unity within a community; it doesn't bring back equity," he said.

Since the 1960s, golliwogs have been condemned as racist, and campaigns succeeded in their gradual removal from public life, particularly in the UK, the US and Europe.

In Australia, Arnott's Golliwog chocolate biscuit was renamed Scalliwag, then discontinued in the 1990s.