Double Island, Queensland
 View of Double Island from shore, 2005 | |
Interactive map of Double Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Ellis Beach, Queensland[1] |
| Coordinates | 16°43′33″S 145°41′01″E / 16.7258°S 145.6836°E |
| Administration | |
Australia | |
Double Island is an island approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) off Ellis Beach, inside the Great Barrier Reef on the coast of Queensland, Australia.[2][1]
Geography
The island lies approximately 1.5 km north-east of Palm Cove, Queensland, and about 30 km north of Cairns.
History
The discovery of gold on the mainland west of the area made Double Island well-known in the 1880s and 1890s. Supposedly, a mining company at Irvinebank used the island around that time as a resort for its employees.[3]
In 1956, bushman Michael 'Tarzan' Fomenko (c.1930–2018) anchored his dugout canoe off the south side of the island on his intended journey from Deeral to Cooktown.[4]
Double Island is the site of a now-derelict exclusive resort. Hollywood stars Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves were among the celebrities who stayed on there.[5][6]
In 2012, Benny Wu from Hong Kong bought the lease of the island and planned a $10 million upgrade to the resort to attract wealthy tourists.[7] However, by 2023, no maintenance or upgrades had been performed. With the resort having fallen into disrepair, there were calls for the lease to be cancelled.[8] In June 2024, Wu's lease was revoked and the island was returned to the state of Queensland.[9]
References
- 1 2 "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ↑ "Double Island – island in the Cairns Region (entry 10404)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ↑ "History". Double Island. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
- ↑ "Was Looking For His Canoe". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton. 26 July 1956. p. 6.
- ↑ Daniel Bateman, "Resort’s tree felling scars Double Island", The Cairns Post, 5 December 2014, page 11
- ↑ "Brangelina to spend summer in Sunshine State", The Cairns Post, 11 September 2013, page 2
- ↑ Bateman, Daniel (24 April 2015). "Hong Kong millionaire Benny Wu cleared over tree removal on Double Island near Cairns". The Cairns Post.
- ↑ "Government out of patience as abandoned island resort and former celebrity hideout given ultimatum to open". ABC News. 4 April 2023. Archived from the original on 7 August 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ↑ "Bloody brilliant: businessman stripped of far north Queensland island". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.