Makepeace Island is a small heart shaped island resort located in the

Noosa River The Noosa River is a river situated in South East Queensland. The catchment starts in the Como Escarpment near Mount Elliott in the coastal Great Sandy National Park and meanders south through a lakes district around Tewantin. Lakes situated on ...

Australia's Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by a ...

Sunshine Coast. The island is currently owned by

Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue'', with two ...

(formerly known as Virgin Blue) founding partners, Brett Godfrey and

Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

. The island is Sir Richard Branson's Australian home and can hold up to 22 guests accommodated in three 2-bedroom villas and a 4 bedroom Bali House wing. The property has a tennis court, theatre, two-storey Balinese

wantilan A wantilan is a Balinese pavilion (''bale'') used for activities involving large crowds. A wantilan is the largest type of ''bale'' in Balinese architecture. A wantilan is basically a large wall-less hall placed under a large multi-tiered roof. A w ...

, 500,000-litre pool and indoor bar and dining area.

History

The island (previously known as ''Pig Island'') was named after former owner, Hannah Makepeace who was bequeathed it by her employer for her faithful years of service on the island. Hannah was on the island as housekeeper and then owner until she died at the age of 89 in 1973. The island was originally gazetted as owned by Charles Nicholas and his wife in 1911. Hannah Makepeace was hired in 1924, and as he had no children, Charles left the island to Hannah. Hannah was known by the community as a colourful character. After Hannah died the island was owned by the state until 1986 when artist Brian Spencer bought the property and renamed it to Makepeace Island in honour of Hannah. The island was bought in 2003 by Brett Godfrey and Rob Sherrard before Sir Richard Branson bought Rob's half in 2007. Later that year, construction began on the island to turn it into a luxury resort. The designing of the property was done by Christopher Thomas and Mark Alexander, in collaboration with Brett's wife, Zahra Godfrey. Gardens and indoor decor include giant sculptures, teak, granite and stone finishes, volcanic boulder bathtubs, ornamental lighting and antiquities and furniture commissioned and acquired in Bali, Java and elsewhere throughout Indonesia. In July, 2011, Makepeace Island was officially opened as 'Sir Richard's Australian Home' and was made available to the public for exclusive use hire.

As A Private Island

After construction was completed in 2009, Makepeace Island was used as a family holiday location for the owners and a function venue for Virgin Blue. Hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas and photographer

Russell James Russell James (born 1962 in Perth) is a fashion, celebrity and beauty photographer. Russell was born in Western Australia and spent much of his childhood moving from city to city due to his working class father. After dropping out of school at age ...

attended the island launch. In 2013 the property featured on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

's ''The'' ''X Factor'' with

Natalie Bassingthwaighte Natalie Bassingthwaighte (; born 1 September 1975) is an Australian recording artist, actress, and television personality. Born and raised in Wollongong, New South Wales, she began her career in musical theatre. She later pursued an acting car ...

and

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...

staying on the property. The island can hold up to 22 guests.

References

External links

Makepeace Island

Virgin Limited Edition
{{coord, -26.3805, 153.0445, type:isle_region:AU, display=title Private islands of Australia Islands of Queensland Geography of Sunshine Coast, Queensland

History

As A Private Island

See also

References

External links