Resort closed, residents at war: Inside the sad demise of Qld’s Couran Cove
The boat ride from the mainland to this idyllic island gives no clue to the reality of its sad demise. But caught in the crossfire of a bitter feud, residents are now forced to “live off grid”. This is the inside story of the downfall of Couran Cove.
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There’s deep trouble in this Gold Coast island paradise, but the boat ride from the mainland gives no clue.
The late morning sun is glinting off the breeze-ruffled Southport Broadwater as we make our way from Runaway Bay, passing the mega-mansions of the Sovereign Islands, to Couran Cove Resort.
It’s only when we near the South Stradbroke Island resort and see the “marina closed” sign – the harbour entrance roped off and the colourful weatherboard waterfront buildings deserted – that the reality of its sad demise looms large.
What was once an idyllic, bustling hotspot for tourists and local boaties is now a shadow of its former self, abandoned by all but a bunch of defiant residents. They are vowing to stay put as a bitter body corporate dispute – that has seen power, gas, water and sewage cut off and the resort closed down – drags on.
Inside the 151ha resort, empty buildings are rotting and covered in gum leaves, the fleet of pushbikes that guests used to ride along the forest tracks sit rusting and the white waterfront marquee that hosted weddings and corporate events is stained and cavernously silent.
The overwater boardwalk to the pool area is fenced off and padlocked.
This certainly isn’t the Couran Cove that my family and countless others visited back in its heyday, when it was winning Queensland tourism awards.
Couran Cove was developed in the late 1990s as an eco-resort by billionaire US philanthropist Chuck Feeney (who made his fortune in the duty free business) and athletics great Ron Clarke, who later went on to become Gold Coast mayor.
With facilities including a synthetic running track, two swimming pools, outdoor gym, rock climbing wall, wellness spa and even its own surf club, it attracted major sporting teams for training camps as well as conference delegates and domestic and international tourists.
The state-of-the-art sports facilities were officially opened in 1998 by US sprint legend Carl Lewis.
More than $300 million was poured into the resort but it fell on hard financial times and was placed in voluntary liquidation by Feeney, before closing for a number of years.
It had a succession of owners, including Brisbane businessman Craig Dowling, who spent millions on a refurbishment and installed international chain Ramada as managers, before hitting further financial strife and eventually falling into the hands of companies linked to Sydney businessman and Catholic Church adviser Simon Napoli.
Mr Napoli has borne the brunt of anger from owners of waterfront apartments and eco-lodges at Couran Cove after cutting off services in recent months over a complex dispute involving the five body corporates that control the resort.
The businessman has accused body corporates of failing to pass on more than $25 million in levies to pay for the services. Residents counter that they’ve paid their levies and Mr Napoli and his associates owe the majority of arrears.
Mr Napoli – who last year formed a mystery entity called Villas on Stradbroke Pty Ltd with high-flying Melbourne property developer Rosario “Ross” Pelligra whose company is developing a $480m Ritz Carlton hotel and superyacht marina at nearby Main Beach – has strongly refuted resident claims he is trying to force them out of Couran Cove so it can be redeveloped.
The long-running feud has seen police called to the island after clashes between residents and security guards, a series of court cases and a heated meeting this month where one body corporate chairman provocatively swigged on a schooner of beer as angry property owners demanded his resignation.
While many residents including the elderly and disabled have abandoned the island, about 40 hardy souls are staying put, even as sewerage was shut off last Friday. They are vowing to live “off the grid” and have begun installing water spear pumps, and are planning to put up solar panels, as the dispute drags on.
“I don’t care what they do – I’m staying because this is my home,” one emotional woman resident said last week just hours before the sewerage was shut off.
“They’re doing this to try and get us out but there’s no way I’m budging.
“I cannot believe that I live in a paradise like this – the most beautiful place on earth – and yet we have this lack of care from corporate bullies because of their greed. The State Government, the Gold Coast City Council … every institution in this country that is designed to help us doesn’t give a damn.”
Another owner, Bernd Brauer, who also runs an at-risk teen charity from Couran Cove, said he had been forced to cancel a youth camp planned at the resort this month after services were shut off.
“It’s pathetic, absolutely pathetic,” he said.
“Warring corporates are causing all this and the little people are the victims. The shutting off of the sewerage risks causing a major ecological problem.”
Patricia Laverty, whose family owns a number of properties at Couran Cove and has lived there for about two years, said the situation was “ridiculous”.
“This wouldn’t be happening on the mainland,” she said.
“But we’re committed to either staying or walking away and walk away is what they want us to do. We’re not going to do that. We’ll go off grid.
“Simon has to sell the island to someone else, someone who cares. Someone needs to talk to him. He got a lease to look after this island and it’s just been destroyed.”
Mr Napoli, however, insists he is not the villain.
He says the residents are “innocent victims …. caught in the crossfire of a body corporate war”.
Mr Napoli has called on the State Government to appoint an independent manager to try to resolve the dispute and “protect the mums and dads who have made such a significant investment in Couran Cove”.
“We remain committed to working with relevant agencies to deliver suggestions on how to resolve significant infighting between body corporates which has plagued Couran Cove for over a decade,” he told The Courier-Mail.
Patricia Laverty’s brother James, a former Victorian supermax prison governor who also lives at Couran Cove, said he and other residents were “not going anywhere”.
“We’re a strong community and everyone’s got each other’s backs,” he said.
“It was a paradise, it really was a fantastic place. It can become just like that again, but properly and fairly run.
“It’s our home and we’ll continue to live there.”
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