Keith Williams' Port Hinchinbrook dream for sale

The dream of late Gold Coast developer Keith Williams at Port Hinchinbrook in north Queensland, has been listed for sale.

Liquidators FTI Consulting have engaged CBRE to sell the Hinchinbrook Island Resort and Port Hinchinbrook assets.

The high profile Cardwell properties, located at the halfway point between Cairns and Townsville, were developed by the late Keith Williams. 

CBRE’s Danny Betros and Rem Rafter will steer the sales campaign with offers closing 26 August.

The Hinchinbrook Island Resort closed in 2010, just prior to Cyclone Yasi, while the commercial tenancies at Port Hinchinbrook were closed in 2011, as a result of damage caused by the cyclone.

Cardwell is situated on the Bruce Highway, 171 kilometres north of Townsville and 203 kilometres south of Cairns at the gateway to the Cassowary Coast Region.

The FTI offering comprises two distinct assets: Port Hinchinbrook, comprising circa 94.5 hectares of land at Cardwell, and the Hinchinbrook Island Resort situated 8 kilometres off the Cardwell coast.

Port Hinchinbrook was developed in the 1990s, with marina basins and boat channels formed at Oyster Point. Developer Williams Corp created more than 200 single residential, medium density residential and commercial lots adjacent to the marina.

Current improvements include a tavern, a marina office and a single level commercial building. There is also capacity to rebuild the 200-250-berth Port Hinchinbrook Marina, which was substantially destroyed by Cyclone Yasi.

Also up for sale is the Hinchinbrook Island Resort, which was developed under a special crown lease on 8.26ha of waterfront site with frontage to Turtle Beach.

Improvements include 22 accommodation units, a lodge which was used for dining and recreational purposes, staff accommodation, water, electricity, sewerage infrastructure, a pool and a jetty/mooring site.

However, Mr Betros said the resort had suffered extensive damage since Cyclone Yasi.

Keith Williams was a visionary who for well over four decades built Queensland’s major tourist attractions starting with Sea World on the Southport Spit in the 1970s, then Hamilton Island Resort and Harbour in the 1980s.