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‘Robinson Crusoe-style living’: the Australians turning to private islands

Sale of Temple Island on the Great Barrier Reef for $1.75m reflects trend towards Australians seeking isolation and pristine environments

The way Bill and Barbara Collyer tell it, a private island is just about the best place to raise a family. The middle-income couple (Barbara is a public servant and Bill is a Queensland University of Technology lecturer) bought their own slice of paradise in 1985 after seeing a tiny ad in the Courier Mail listing the island for $120,000.

They held on to Temple Island for 30 years.

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