All geared up for spray and stay

Glam new yacht and golf clubs have lifted the image of Queensland's Hamilton Island

Hamilton Island's new Walter Barda-designed yacht club

Glam new yacht and golf clubs have lifted the image of Queensland's Hamilton Island

TAHITIAN seafood salad, cauliflower fritters with cinnamon and sumca yoghurt or golden squid dusted in besan and ras el hanout? Are we in Morocco, on the northern shores of the Med or an equivalent jetsetter destination where white linen and studied chic are de rigueur? We are on Queensland's Hamilton Island, actually, where the dress code is Aussie casual and fish and chips the preferred fare.

Until now, that is. The launch late last year of the Hamilton Island Yacht Club has lifted the Whitsundays resort island's image by multiple rungs. The club, a particularly personal project of the island's owner, Bob Oatley of maxi racing yacht fame, is open to all. The Oatleys have invested heavily in the ultra-glam resort Qualia on the island's northern tip but the yacht club has a more egalitarian air.

The tapas selections described above (two plates for $18; three for $26) are among the light fare offered at the club's open-air Bommie Deck Bar from 11am to 3pm daily. There are low and loungey chairs, striped bolsters and views of the island's marina; for more formal lunch and dinner or weekend brunch, the Bommie Restaurant is stylishly appointed, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing the true-blue waters of Dent Passage.

Crowds are already flocking to try the likes of West Australian crayfish raviolo with baby bok choy and finger lime emulsion or zucchini fritte with marinated haloumi, watermelon, lemon and oregano. If the notion of a latte martini makes you wince, then a glass of the Oatley family's Wild Oats vintages from NSW's Mudgee is a finger's-snap away.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh dubbed the club the state's "opera house" when she officiated at its opening and the Walter Barda-designed building, with a full sail-shaped copper roof, could be said to mimic the shells of Sydney's most famous landmark. But Barda's references are resoundingly nautical, from the hull-shaped door handles to cantilevered terraces that look like the bridges of ocean liners. From some angles, the roof's swoops resemble whales' tails; from other vantage points, the soaring gables of a Thai temple.

Also new, and another Oatley project, is the Peter Thomson-designed Hamilton Island Golf Club, billed as Australia's only 18-hole championship course on its own island. The 6120m par 71 course sits on rugged little Dent Island, a five-minute ferry trip from Hamilton Island, with a clubhouse designed by Qualia architect Chris Beckingham. The course's topography is described as including steep valleys, lakes and natural boulders and "to ensure a good game for all proficiencies, three tee positions are offered for each hole".

Also new are the Yacht Club Villas, a gated development behind the yacht club. Barda is again the architect and television celebrity gardener Jamie Durie has landscaped the grounds with springy lawns, rainbow cassia, pandanus and palms. Most of the villas have been sold and many will be available in a letting pool for holiday guests; with multiple bedrooms and tons of spill-out space, these are luxe party pads for grown-ups.

My accommodation this visit is Ala Moana, a five-bedroom rental with fabulous sea views, horizon-edge pool and the services of an expert housekeeper-host. An electric golf cart -- everyone's mode of transport on Hamilton Island -- is provided at Ala Moana and it feels like a fairground ride down to the yacht club for something as unexpected as a white chocolate and watermelon daiquiri.

Now that we're over all that "world's best job" caretaker hoopla, Hamilton Island definitely deserves another look.

lhamiltonislandyachtclub.

com.au

lhamiltonislandgolfclub.com.au

lalamoana.com.au

Susan Kurosawa's exclusive review of Ala Moana will appear in WISH magazine in April.