Bob Oatley empire to run ‘as normal’, family says

The family of late businessman, winemaker and sailor Bob Oatley vow to continue to operate his interests ‘as normal’.

The family of late billionaire businessman, winemaker and sailor Bob Oatley, yesterday vowed to continue to operate Queensland’s Hamilton Island as well as its extensive domestic and international sailing commitments following the patriarch’s death.

“We will run it as normal,” Bob’s son Sandy Oatley, chairman of Hamilton Island Enterprises, told The Australian last night.

“We have been doing it with Dad sitting beside us for the past 10 years, training us, looking over our shoulder, making sure everything is OK. We will continue to do that with his memory and vision in our minds,” he said.

Sandy Oatley’s siblings, Ian and Ros, remain on the Hamilton Island Enterprises board, the ­ultimate owner of Hamilton ­Island. Bob Oatley bought Hamilton Island in Queensland’s Whitsundays in 2003 for about $200 million from developer Keith Williams.

He has since ploughed about $300m into the island, which had languished for several years because of lack of investment capital.

Under Bob Oatley, the luxury qualia resort was built with an international airport and a yacht club, which was modelled on the yacht club at Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, Italy. As a tribute, the siblings may also embark on the development of 300 serviced apartments and a hotel at nearby Dent Island across from Hamilton, amid confirmation the luxury project has Queensland government approval to proceed.

The Oatley family also plans to keep up with Mr Oatley’s various commitments to sailing, ­including the maxi yacht Wild Oats XI, which has won the Sydney to Hobart eight of the past 11 times the classic blue water race was held. “With the sailing we will continue,” Sandy Oatley said last night. “That is what Dad would have wanted us to do.”

Bob Oatley died at the age of 87 at his Pittwater home in Sydney on Sunday morning. The family expects to organise a private funeral for Thursday.

Bob Oatley’s champion skipper Mark Richards said they had done “a lot of wonderful things together”. “We were unbelievably close; he’s been an amazing mentor to me and helped me with some tremendous success in my business life,” he said.

Mr Oatley is survived by his wife Valerie, his three children, as well as numerous grand children and great grand children. He was appointed AO in 2014.

Additional reporting: Simon King