Hamilton Island could be up for sale for $1billion as Oatley family consider offloading Great Barrier Reef estate
One of the Great Barrier Reef’s most famous islands could soon be put up for sale for as much as $1 billion.
The Oatley family are reportedly investigating the future of Hamilton Island, off the coast of Airlie Beach, in north Queensland.
The Oatleys bought the island during the tourism boom of the early 1980s for about $200 million, although the actual sale price was never disclosed.
Rough estimates suggest the Oatleys spent more than $450 million upgrading the island to the paradise it is today.
That bill includes $100 million for the island’s luxury resort called Qualia, $85 million for a yacht club and villas and $45 million for a golf club.
Hamilton Island (above) could soon go on sale for $1 billion, after last being bought in the 1980s for around $200 million
The island is currently owned by the billionaire Oatley family (pictured, Bob Oatley, who died seven years ago, with sons Sandy and Ian)
Another unique feature of the island that will attract buyers is its international airstrip.
A spokesperson for Hamilton Island confirmed the island is undergoing some changes, but declined to comment on rumors of its sale.
“(We) have put in place new leadership and a new approach and (are) conducting a review with the help of (our) advisors to explore opportunities for growth and future prosperity,” he said The Australian.
‘At this stage this review is still ongoing and no decisions have been made. We do not intend to comment further until any recommendations have been considered.”
However, an “executive with knowledge of Hamilton Island’s potential marketing campaign” confirmed the island had played host to potential buyers in recent weeks.
“Hamilton Island has been on offer for about a year now thanks to its best-ever post-Covid domestic tourism season,” they said.
The apparent sale of Hamilton Island is one of several recent high-profile deals in the Great Barrier Reef.
Malaysian multinational Mulpha is still trying to sell the nearby Hayman Island resort for $300 million.
South Molle Island, which was devastated by Cyclone Debbie in 2017, is also up for sale for $25 million.
The owner, China Capital Investment Group, also previously tried to sell the famous holiday destination Daydream Island, but failed to find a buyer.
Annie Cannon-Brookes, the ex-wife of Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, bought Dunk Island in 2022 for $23.6 million.
Even Australia’s richest man has been thrown into turmoil with the $42 million purchase of Lizard Island through his investment company Tattarang in 2021.
The country’s richest woman, mining giant Gina Rinehart, almost joined the reef island elite with the sale of Great Keppel Island in 2022.
However, the $50 million sale fell through after Rinehart struggled to make plans for the redevelopment of the island’s once-famous resort.
The wealthy Oatley family spent more than $450 million upgrading Hamilton Island (above)
The Oatley family has interests in the wine industry and is famous for winning the Sydney to Hobart yacht race nine times.
Family patriarch Bob Oatley died in 2016 at the age of 87.
The pioneering businessman made his fortune in the wine industry by selling his successful Rosemount wine company to Southcorp for a reported $1.5 billion in 2001.
He founded Rosemount Estate in 1969 in NSW’s Hunter Valley and sold his first vintage in the early 1970s.
Over the next thirty years, Rosemount became the second best-selling Australian wine brand in the US and Australia’s largest family-owned wine company.
When Mr Oatley sold the company in 2001, he used $200 million to buy the world-famous tourist resort of Hamilton Island in Queensland.
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day honors for his services to the wine and tourism industries and to the sport of yacht racing.