What life on an Australian island is really like

Every time Gerard Le Sueur comes back to his island home and looks out over the water to the mainland, he thanks his lucky stars he is where he is.

“Living on an island is like being on holiday all the time,” he says. “The only noise is from the birds and the occasional boat put-putting around.

“You can sit and relax and know that you’re part of a really lovely little community; people who will do anything to help and immediately have become friends for life. It’s a wonderful place to live.”

Executive coach Gerard, 58, his academic wife Heidi, 50, and their sons Noah, 15, and Sam, 12, all live on Scotland Island in Sydney’s Pittwater estuary. They make up the roughly 1000 people living on the 52-hectare scrap of land, with water-only access to the mainland. “It’s a very beautiful island,” said agent Juliet Wills of LJ Hooker Mona Vale.

It’s also one of the most popular of Australia’s total of 8222 islands, and while it’s a definite advantage to have your own boat for the trips to Church Point from where you can drive to anywhere in Sydney, there are also regular ferry services.

Mostly bushland, with no shops, cafes or industry permitted, housing is often comparatively affordable. The Le Sueurs, for instance, are now selling their architect-designed four-bedroom home with a $1.38 million price guide because Heidi has a new job in the city, but additional costs can include parking permits, boat parking permits and water taxi fees.

Larger, more residential islands can definitely offer an easier lifestyle, particularly if they do have shops, cafes and restaurants, as well as bridge access. Phillip Island in Victoria, for instance, where The Block is currently being filmed, has a much bigger population of about 13,800 as of 2021, as well as penguins – which attracted an additional 709,500 visitors in the last financial year. Property there is also well-priced, with the median house price at $762,500 in the main township, Cowes.

Queensland, of course, has far more than its fair share of island refuges, with Moreton and North Stradbroke islands off Brisbane and Bribie Island – connected to the south-eastern coast by a bridge – among the biggest sand islands. North Stradbroke is also the only sand island in Queensland with bitumen roads for any kind of car.

By contrast, to the north, the biggest sand island in the world, K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island and a World Heritage site, has only a tiny population of just 183 people, with many of them temporary residents.

Further away there are a huge number of islands, including the stunning Hayman Island, which has a private five-bedroom residence with three pavilions covering 1100 square metres. Hayman House has just been offered for sale with a guide of around $20 million.

“We’ve had interest both locally and from all points of the globe for Hayman House,” says agent Jock Langley of SpinksCo Residential. “The beauty is that it’s a fabulous Kerry Hill-designed private residence on an island with extraordinary views. That means you can isolate yourself if you want privacy but there’s also the resort on the island.

“Then it’s not far from all the facilities of the area too, like golf courses and good restaurants and resort living. It really has everything.”

Living on other Australian islands can be much cheaper, however, like Norfolk Island, in the Pacific Ocean midway between New Zealand and New Caledonia. It used to have strict regulations about applying to settle there, but now it’s simply regarded as part of NSW, with the same rights to live there – apart from on the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“It’s wonderful living on an island,” says Rose Evans, agency manager at Norfolk Island Real Estate, who’s been there for 18 years now. “I love the remote location. It’s quiet and peaceful, while the main drawcard is the natural beauty that surrounds you and is part of everyday life.”

It’s not too expensive, either, being broadly comparable to the mainland’s regional areas with a median price of $600,000 for a three or four-bedroom house on acreage, and sometimes with a view.

One island with fabulous views is Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. It’s accessible by regular ferries yet is a completely protected heritage site due to its convict past. While some homes for dockyard staff were developed in 1914, they are now for holiday accommodation only and looked after by the Harbour Trust.

And then there’s Kangaroo Island in South Australia, home to about 4700 people and a huge number of animals on the third of the land dedicated to nature reserves … Coochimudlo Island in Queensland with 700 people … the list goes on. And let’s not forget our biggest island, Tasmania, which has a population of around 579,000.

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