Alan Bond's glamorous 'ghost town' resort set to reopen on tropical island
Updated
An island resort that became a symbol of 1980s excess is set to be restored to its former glory, transformed from a cobwebbed ghost town to the tropical paradise dreamed up by tycoon Alan Bond.
Alan and Eileen Bond developed Cockatoo Island Resort in the 1980s, creating an exclusive haven for wealthy holiday makers, who were able to dock their yachts amid the remote Buccaneer Archipelago and relax in an infinity pool 100 metres above sea level.
Paul 'Scupper' Duyer, who has lived on the island much of his life, remembers the visit during which Ms Bond settled on the distinctive pink colour scheme.
"The story goes that she actually looked up at the setting sun as she sailed up and said 'I want the houses all that colour', and it was a slight off-pink colour in the sky," he said.
"They already had the paint ready to paint the houses, but they actually decided she wanted all the houses pink.
"They airbrushed them, so everything was over-sprayed. The rocks were pink and the trees were pink, brand new roads, but everything was pink," he laughed.
Resort claimed by bank in 1990s
The remote location, 250 kilometres north-east of Broome, made for challenging logistics.
Building materials, endless crates of champagne, and playthings like a film projector and pets had to be brought in by boat.
"It was just a great spot. Everyone used to be just amazed when they'd arrive and see the place," Mr Duyer said.
But as the decade drew to a close, Mr Bond was in financial strife, and in the early 1990s Cockatoo Island Resort was reclaimed by the bank and sold off.
It operated for another couple of years, but in the decades since has been used only intermittently as worker accommodation for staff at the island's iron ore mine, which sits just over the hillside on the narrow, 6-kilometre-long island.
That is now set to change, with a small group of Kimberley businessmen fulfilling a long-held dream to buy the lease and reopen the resort.
"It's quite a huge job, because we have to bring it back from being pretty rundown," co-owner Dean Kemp said.
"But the restoration's going really well. The pool was rundown where not a lot of miners used it, and some paintwork had gone bad.
"But it's come up quite nicely, so we're really looking forward to having it up and running again."
Ghost town with a forgotten history
Visiting Cockatoo Island in 2017 is an eerie experience, with some of the resort buildings still plastered with faded photos, and equipment such as pianos and reel-to-reel film equipment cobwebbed and covered in dust.
The chalets and clubroom are perched high on hilltops overlooking the vast blue waters and hundreds of islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago.
But the luxury resort is just one chapter in the strange history of Cockatoo Island.
Wander down the winding, bush-lined road from the clubhouse and an entire, ghostly township unfolds.
For decades before the aborted tourism venture, the island was home to a bustling mining town, which residents describe as a happy, highly functional "goldfish bowl", largely cut off from the rest of the world.
Iron ore mining started in the 1940s, decades before the fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers model was developed, meaning hundreds of workers and their families were relocated north to the picturesque but isolated island.
Cheryl Wixon grew up on the island and said it was an idyllic place.
"As I child it was just amazing. It was a unique place to live, and very different to how you would be brought up in the city," she said.
"There were about 52 houses, and it was a very energetic community, always lots going on, lots of social events and a real community spirit.
"There was a grocery shop, a butcher shop, post office, a medical centre, and a mess hall for the workers.
"But the state ship would only come with fresh supplies every so often, so I remember queuing up for fresh milk, which was a real treat."
Many of the buildings remain from this era, largely empty and abandoned, with bits of newspaper and small carvings from children the only throwbacks to a different era.
The tight-knit community splintered in the mid-1980s as the employment model shifted from residential to FIFO — ironically, something the WA Government is trying to reverse in its recent investment in iron ore towns of the Pilbara.
The last family, including Ms Dixon's, packed up and flew out in 1986.
Now, not only is the hilltop resort re-opening, but negotiations are underway for the sale of the Cockatoo Island iron ore mine, which has been mothballed since the last owners, Pluton Resources, went into liquidation in 2015.
Ms Dixon said it was great news.
"I feel really happy that the township's going to be used again, and that other people will get enjoyment from such a unique place," she said.
"It would be so sad to see the place disappear out of history, so I hope it goes well."
Topics: travel-and-tourism, history, people, derby-6728, broome-6725, perth-6000
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