Lindeman Island, Club Med off Mackay to be redeveloped into five-star resort

The popular resort was left to decay for a decade with smashed walls, scattered furniture, rubbish, and an algae-laden pool. But all that’s about to change with a major, luxurious makeover.

• Island Qld’s forgotten tropical islands

A decaying and abandoned island resort off Queensland’s coast will be redeveloped into a five-star hotel with a new visitor jetty kicking off the revival.

Club Med on Lindeman Island in the Mackay region was permanently shut in 2012 after receiving significant damage from ex-Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

Photos reveal the resort was left to rot and ruin with abandoned scattered furniture, piled-up appliances, rubbish strewn throughout, deteriorating timber, smashed walls and an algae-laden pool.

Singapore-based Wells Smart Group bought the island for $10.46 million in March 2023 after its previous owner, Chinese tycoon William Han, failed to follow through on his approval for a $583 million redevelopment.

Lindeman Island on the Great Barrier Reef.

Lindeman is one of five projects chosen to share in round one of the state government’s Growing Future Tourism Fund, which Tourism Minister Michael Healy said would help them realise its “ambitious goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure to more than $44 billion per year by 2023”.

Stage 1 of the Lindeman Island project is the building of a 50m jetty to open visitor access. Work is expected to begin this year and be complete by 2025.

Full redevelopment plans include the refurbishment of a 210-room, five-star hotel complete with a restaurant, bar, pool, spa and gym, accommodation for 200 staff, a 100-person event space, two 19m catamarans to act as ferries, a solar farm, and a nine-hole golf course.

Design plans for the redeveloped Lindeman Island off Mackay. Picture: Contributed

Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert said everyone in Mackay would love to see Lindeman restored to its “former glory”.

“Lindeman Island, in its heyday, was a jewel in the crown for our tourism industry in the Mackay region,” Mrs Gilbert said.

Well Smart Group director Tony Jia said they were “immensely grateful” the government had trusted in their vision.

Club Med on Lindeman Island before it was destroyed in a cyclone.

“We believe this grant is a great boost in confidence and will become a pivotal step towards the makeover of Lindeman Island resort,” Mr Jia said.

“Club Med Lindeman Island was once an iconic destination for Australia but has been abandoned since 2012, it is very unfortunate to witness such a stunning island getting forgotten.

“The grant marks the beginning of an exciting journey, and we will proudly announce that Lindeman Island will become a beacon of sustainable development.”

The five selected projects across the state, expected to be complete by mid-2026, will leverage about $66.6 million in private investment, support about 313 jobs during planning and construction and a further 669 ongoing operational jobs, and attract an extra 216,000 visitors per year with a shared $63 million in spending money.

Queensland’s abandoned island resorts have been a contentious issue in recent years with a 2022 parliamentary inquiry resulting in new powers to suspend leases if lessees could not show progress on development plans.

Originally published as Lindeman Island, Club Med off Mackay to be redeveloped into five-star resort