Adventures of Delvy : Daydream in the Whitsundays

It's not until you walk the bush trail between the southern and northern areas of Daydream Island that you can get a sense of what this island was like before any development. Majestic hoop pines are in abundance at its highest point of 50 metres above sea level and the man made structures are well hidden from view. Surrounded by natural bush and the azure Whitsunday waters the natural scenery still looks the same as pre-European settlement.

View from highest point in Daydream Island

As part of the Molle group of islands, Daydream was officially known as West Molle Island since its naming in 1881 by Captain Maclear of the Royal Navy when surveying the area. At one kilometre in length and 400 metres at its widest point, the island was never put to use by any of the local lease holders over the years, due to its small size and the lack of a freshwater supply. The aboriginal Ngaro tribe, who once used to travel in and around the Whitsunday islands and mainland, didn't find much use for it either.

It wasn't until Connie and Paddy Murray, along with their good friend Charles Hird, arrived from Sydney in 1932 in their yacht Day Dream that all began to change. Making a payment of 50 pounds to the leaseholder of the Molle Island group Henry Lamond, the threesome set about starting a tourist resort on West Molle Island and unofficially renamed it Daydream after their vessel. They received their first guests in 1933 and charged a guinea a day (approximately $2) for visitors to enjoy a tropical island paradise, transferring them to and from Cannonvale or from visiting coastal steamers on Day Dream.

Daydream Island had many more leaseholders over the years, building on from the six original cabins and the kitchen, dining and recreation rooms on the southern end. A subsidiary of Ansett added some more modern accommodation to the resort, including for the first time septic-system toilets. However, water was still an issue and it wasn't until Gold Coast businessman Bernard Elsey took over the lease in 1967 that the water problem was resolved. He spent a fortune on refurbishing the resort, including the installation of a desalination plant, only for it all to be wiped out by Cyclone Ada in 1970.

The resort was rebuilt and the island's lease again changed hands many times but increasing the number of guest units to a total of eighty. In 1988 Daydream's name was formalised and underwent a $70 million redevelopment; this time on the northern end and with water now being piped from Shute Harbour.

In 2000, world champion water skier from the Gold Coast and founder of vitamin company Nature's Own, Vaughan Bullivant, bought Daydream Island for $25 million and transformed it to what it is today. There are now 296 guest rooms and suites, a waterfront wedding chapel, conference and reception facilities and a day spa with 16 treatment rooms. The Living Reef is one of the world's largest outdoor aquariums where you can easily view sharks, rays, coral and a variety of fish swimming in and around the resort grounds. There are many activities including playing a round on the Australia themed mini golf course, swimming in the lagoon pools, watching a movie under the stars at the outdoor cinema, tennis courts, a gym and several restaurants and bars all with fabulous views of the Coral Sea.

After spending $50 million on creating this wonderful island resort, Vaughan Bullivant sold it to a Chinese investment group for $30 million this year due to ill health. Let's see what the next chapter brings for Daydream Island Island Resort and Spa.

We enjoyed a day out exploring Daydream Island the other week, travelling from Port of Airlie with Cruise Whitsundays on a high speed catamaran. A far cry from the sailing yacht transfer of 1933.