First look at island in a decade reveals shocking state of resort
Neglected, overgrown and ruined, a walk-through of the dilapidated Double Island resort has revealed the enormous scale of reconstruction and the serious danger to would-be urban explorers.
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Battered, neglected, overgrown and ruined, a walk-through of the dilapidated Double Island resort has revealed the enormous scale of pending reconstruction and the serious danger facing would-be urban explorers.
For the first time in a decade the sensational take back of the island from Hong Kong tycoon Benny Wu has presented an exclusive opportunity to step foot on the former tourism jewel off the coast of Palm Cove.
Mr Wu’s Fortune Island Holdings first took possession in 2012 from OzEmail founder Sean Howard in a highly celebrated acquisition.
Soon after the resort closed and a caretaker was installed with strict instructions to keep unwelcome visitors off the island.
Now, after a two year arm wrestle, Mr Wu’s has been ousted from the island in a state government push to demand Great Barrier Reef island lease holders either “use it or lose it”.
But it could still be years before anyone will be sipping cocktails at the poolside bar.
During a tour of the resort that once hosted Hollywood A-listers such as Madonna, Guy Ritchie and Keanu Reeves in lavish tropical luxury, the resort is almost unrecognisable.
Roofs have been partially torn off, the decking is rotten and termite ridden, pools are filled with slime, while a carpet of sprouting coconuts cover the ground.
The beachside gym built by dotcom millionaire Mr Howard to entice Mr Reeves onto the island while the actor was in training for the Matrix stands ravaged by the elements.
And while one section remains intact a collapsed roof has caused trees to grow over training equipment.
Barron River MP Craig Crawford while celebrating the island take back tempered it with concern for the safety of curious visitors to the island.
“It’s a lot more rundown than what I imagined, what I have found is wholesale neglect, damage and destruction,” he said.
“There’s deck boards that will collapse underneath your feet, we don’t know what electricity may or may not be connected.
“We don’t want people wandering through this resort with their families.
“We don’t want people coming and camping here.
“It’s an unsafe place to be and I’m really concerned that people are going to come out here, do stupid things and get hurt.”
Mr Crawford said a possession of the island came with a responsibility and it’s expected a new caretaker will be installed to keep visitors away while an operator is found to take on the mammoth task of returning the island to tourism use.
Repossession of the island followed a May 7 Queensland Land Court ruling that the lease of Fortune Island Holdings could be revoked due to the company being in breach of lease terms that stated the island must be used for tourism.
“There’s no indication here that this place was hit by storms, cyclones, floods, tides, anything like that,” Mr Crawford said.
“That annoys me, and it leaves me with the conclusion that they never had any intention of reopening this.
“This was purely a land banking exercise and that’s the only assumption that I can make.”
In a departure from a single lease currently in place, Mr Crawford proposed to divide a freehold resort section from a new nature conservation and day use area, similar to the council managed sand spit beach bar area on Dunk Island.
“For a while this island hasn’t been visited by people because there was a caretaker living on it and he obviously did a pretty good job of hunting people away,” he said.
“Whether we have to try and replicate that, those are the conversations we’re going to have to have, and quickly.”
Mr Crawford conceded cheap Asian holidays had ended the halcyon days of the Great Barrier Reef resort and dividing the island would make the attraction accessible to picnicking boaties not interested in shelling out for five star luxury.
“That’s a successful way to operate,” he said.
“Imagine what that view looks like just on sunset as the lights of the jetty come on, the lights of the buildings at Palm Cove and the sun setting behind the mountain … and you could do that as a day visitor in a well-organised arrangement.
“I think that they need to draw a line across the island and not have an exclusive lease for the entire island, half of this island should be returned to nature.”
However, effectively starting a new resort from scratch and being hamstrung by a limited water supply, no sewage and no power could mean a long road before tourists return en masse, according to Palm Cove business owner and Fitzroy Island Resort developer Tony Richards.
“People think, put an ice cream shop over there and you will be back and forth every day but it’s not like that,” he said.
“Nothing on that island is not in total disarray, nothing is suitable, it really needs to be cleared away and then the whole reconstruction can begin, with the power, water and sewage.”
Visiting the island on Tuesday Davison 9 councillor Brett Olds was taken aback to see with his own eyes the decay and dumping of waste a stone’s throw from Palm Cove.
“If it was me or you the state would be all over you about it but because it was out of sight and a Chinese investor you can get away with it,” he said.
“The neglect I can believe but I can’t believe how long it took (to get the island back), the community has been calling for (action) on this for a long time.”
Going forward Mr Olds said the state government would be particular about the vetting of potential new island leaseholders.
He called for a home grown entity, such as the Morris Group, to take on the lease who would be invested in a positive outcome for Australians wishing to holiday on the island.
“They are going to be very nervous with whoever they go with because they can’t afford to make the same mistake twice,” he said.
“We would like to see someone local, someone that has the money to fix it up and who is an Australian.”
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Originally published as First look at island in a decade reveals shocking state of resort
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