\u2018Out of control\u2019: Brisbane house prices up $149k in one year<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
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The resort on South Molle Island in the Whitsundays is in a dilapidated state. Picture: Allards Across Oz<\/p>\n
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South Molle Island, Whitsundays has leashold tenure, and comes under the Whitsunday Shire \u2013 zoned tourism & national park. Source: HTL Property.<\/p>\n
Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Ry Collins said China Capital Investment Group owns the devastated South Molle Island and \u201chad advised the state government it was not in a position to redevelop South Molle Island at this point in time\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Collins said the island was being left behind with several neighbours in the Whitsundays striking major development and ownership deals worth millions \u2013 if not billions in one case.<\/p>\n
He confirmed raising South Molle Island\u2019s future with Natural Resources Minister Dale Last, who is also the local member for Burdekin.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Molle Island is really almost like a jewel in the crown of the Whitsunday Islands and the council would be very, very keen to see that project be reactivated and a new resort developed there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe obviously see massive economic opportunity associated with Queensland\u2019s islands generally, and are very keen to support future projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely want to see some activity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Whitsundays region attracts an estimated 897,000 visitors a year \u2013 up 5.9 per cent on 2019 \u2013 spending $1.7 billion, an increase of 139 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n
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Visitors to the island took these shots. Picture: Allards Across Oz<\/p>\n
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Queensland Natural Resources Minister Dale Last. Picture, John Gass<\/p>\n
China Capital Investment Group bought South Molle Island in 2016 for $25 million and also owns the operational Daydream Island Resort in the Whitsundays. It first listed it for sale in 2023, and currently has it listed via private treaty through HTL Property.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s believed a couple of potential buyers are still actively engaged in discussions, but no deal has been finalised.<\/p>\n
Several formerly derelict islands are on the move, according to Mr Collins.<\/p>\n
Lindeman Island has construction underway on a $40-50 million first phase as part of a $583 million master plan, with the resort set to open in 2026.<\/p>\n
The council has also granted Hook Island development approval for around 40 eco cabins.<\/p>\n
Hamilton Island \u2013 not abandoned but demonstrating the region\u2019s appeal \u2013 sold to US private equity giant Blackstone in a $1.2 billion deal announced in December 2025, with completion expected this year pending regulatory clearances.<\/p>\n
Lindeman and Hook were in similar states of abandonment as South Molle Island when the Queensland government began a crackdown on owners who abandon their islands while holding development leases.<\/p>\n
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Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Ry Collins<\/p>\n
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The upgraded jetty was worth $10m. Picture: Allards Across Oz<\/p>\n
An information memorandum sent to prospective buyers by HTL Property details the island\u2019s development potential, with initial town planning advice indicating capacity for over 1,300 rooms along with supporting amenities, subject to council approval.<\/p>\n
The property has perpetual tenure on the beach and island parcels, a completed $10 million jetty reconstruction, a new freshwater dam to reduce desalination costs, and removal of old structures creating what sales agents describe as a \u201cconstruction-ready site\u201d.<\/p>\n
The island boasts what agents describe as an \u201cimpressive 600-metre stretch of rare, protected north-facing white sand beaches\u201d and flexibility to develop anything from low-density luxury villas to a large-scale resort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South Molle Island, Whitsundays, QLD, is still on the market. Pressure is building on the Chinese owner of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-454233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}