Half of Temple Island in Ilbilbie off Mackay coast for sale for $600,000

Real estate agents promise “there’s no catch” as one half of a Queensland island by the Great Barrier Reef sells for the price of a house.

A 50 per cent stake in Temple Island, Ilbilbie QLD 4738 is up for grabs and the seller promises “there’s no catch”.

An island so peaceful you can hear “whale songs” from the balcony is up for grabs for the price of a home as the past owners say farewell to their “spur of the moment” bargain.

A 50 per cent stake in the 123 acre Temple Island boasting white sand beaches and untouched coral just three kilometres off Cape Palmerston National Park in tropical North Queensland was listed on the market for $600,000.

Lukas Vaid from Taylors Property Specialist said a large variety of callers were hammering his phone everyday after a post to Facebook picked up heaps of interest.

“A lot of people seem to think there’s got to be a hidden catch somewhere but there really isn’t,” he said.

“My phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I’ve had seven phone calls in the past hour.

“Certainly for us it’s a very unique experience for our agency as well.”

The island can either be accessed via light aircraft or by boat. Photo: Contributed

The previous owner, a mother of three from Airlie Beach whose husband is a light aircraft pilot, said they took a chance with some friends to buy the island listed for $1.75m after it had been “sitting there for months”.

“We were like ‘no that’s just ridiculous. We can’t do that’,” she said.

“But then it came up for auction and so it was a bit of a spur of the moment thing…next thing you know we bought an island between us.

“We’re certainly not millionaires, we’re just hard working Aussies.

“Over the night time we hear nothing and there’s a couple of lights that you see from the mainland but it’s just all stars.

“When we were there in October last year, sitting on our balcony at night time we could hear whale song and whales jumping. It was amazing.”

The island boasts pristine fishing conditions with secluded estuaries. Photo: Contributed

But after 12 months and with two kids headed to Melbourne and Brisbane for university, the pair said they would be selling their stake of the island as it wasn’t “getting the love that it deserved”.

Mr Vaid said the lease available included a 21.5 acre block but buyers would then have access to the whole island.

“Imagine everything has a 50 per cent share,” he said.

That includes the three bedroom home on the island.

Temple Island is also home to sea turtles which nest in December and then hatch in the months of January and February.

The new owners will be sharing a three bedroom house with a family from Airlie Beach. Photo: Contributed

The nearest green zone is 30 kms away meaning all areas are free for fishing and access to the island can be made either via a light plane from Mackay or Rockhampton Airport or by boat off the mainland point of Ilbilbie off Cape Palmerston about an hour south from Mackay.

“We’re encouraging people that have a few mates that want to get together…go spend a couple of nights there…it’d be pretty cool to say you own the share of an island.”

It’s a sentiment shared among the previous owners who were “devastated” when they decided to let the island go.

“It’s just conversations that you have and then the next thing you know you’re doing something crazy and you own an island,” the previous owner said.

“It is very cool.”

Originally published as Half of Temple Island in Ilbilbie off Mackay coast for sale for $600,000