20th July 2016
If you've ever dreamed of owning your own tropical island, now might be your chance. That is, as long as you have a cool $30 million spare. In fact you'll have more than just a chance if you happen to have the cash laying around, as Keswick Island is up for sale.
Located in the Whitsunday Island group on the Great Barrier Reef, Keswick Island is a stunning island currently owned by Keswick Developments. The company is headed up by Edward Dawson-Damer, reported by the Australian Financial Review as a 'family friend to the Royal family'.
Royal by association or not, if you've got a truckload of cash you could be the proud new owner of 517 hectares of land complete with 400 hectares of national park on stunning Keswick Island.
The sale is being handled by Colliers International who confirmed the island is approved for large-scale development. According to the agency, the island also offers the quintessential scenes of clear water, white sandy beaches and colourful coral reefs which are a haven for marine life such as turtles, whales and dolphins.
While these Great Barrier Reef attractions have always generated millions of tourist dollars, recently the region has been under threat due to a coral bleaching event. The global event affected coral in both the northern and central reaches of the reef caused by warmer than average sea temperatures thanks to a combination of global warming and the El Nino.
The Whitsundays managed to escape the worst effects of the devastating coral bleaching event in early 2016. Recently the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority estimated that the area's average coral loss was 3 per cent. However the entirety of the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef remains ecologically fragile.
Despite the green light for development, it remains to be seen what the new buyer will have in store for Keswick Island. It has the potential to become one giant nature reserve, but it also have the potential to become a popular holiday spot.
