Peter Bond relists Dunk Island
Dunk Island – which has had a swag of high-profile owners including Qantas – is for sale again.
Off Mission Beach, about 140 kilometres south of Cairns, the Cyclone Yasi damaged resort is being offloaded by Brisbane businessman Peter Bond who began repossessing it five months ago after a $31.5 million deal with Mayfair 101 last October didn’t settle.
The property isn’t expected to achieve that high a price this time around.
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group’s Nick Roche and Andrew Langsford are the agents.
Mr Bond co-founded Linc Energy which liquidated in 2016 – a factor which prevented his island redevelopment plan.
Listing could end $1.5b tourist mecca plan
Dunk Island is one of three freehold Great Barrier Reef atolls.
Mayfair 101 had intended it as the centrepiece of a $1.5 billion hospitality project which also included 200 mainland dwellings it agreed to buy last year.
During COVID, the purchaser reduced the number of Mission Beach properties it would acquire; one of its lenders, Napla, is understood to have recently started offering 107 for sale.
The development company founder, James Mawhinney, said in August and last week that it is seeking a rescue package which would see it complete the Bond deal possibly by the end of the year.
Mr Bond seized control of the asset last Thursday (story continues below).
Dunk Island
Three quarters of the 970 hectare Dunk Island is national park, the balance is freehold and serviced with power, utility infrastructure and an air strip.
It was established as a resort in the 1930s and used during World War II by the Royal Australian Air Force.
Over the years it has been rebuilt and repositioned and is now configured with a nine-hole golf course, tennis courts, day spa and 160 suites in several buildings.
International guests reported by Wikipedia to have stayed there include Henry Ford II, Sean Connery, and ex-prime ministers Gough Whitlam and Harold Holt.
Former owners are Avis Rent a Car founder Eric McIlree and Trans Australia Airlines, which picked it up in 1976, 16 years before merging with Qantas.
P&O Australian Resorts next acquired it in 1997 – selling to Voyager Resorts in 2004.
Eleven years ago it traded to Hideaway Resorts which owned it in 2011, when Yasi hit.
Mr Bond purchased Dunk Island after the cyclone. Plans for a renovation, announced in 2014, never began.
