🔗 Share this article Hamilton Island, a Popular Tropical Holiday Destination on the Great Barrier Reef, Reportedly Set to be Acquired by American Investment Giant. A major resort island located on the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef has entered into an agreement for sale to a US-based private equity firm in a deal said to be worth 1.2 billion Australian dollars. “We are honored to continue the legacy and commitment that the Oatley family has built in the heart of the iconic Great Barrier Reef,” stated a senior representative. The Reported Sale Headquartered in New York, the investment firm Blackstone – the owner of the hospitality group Crown Resorts – announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire the island resort from the Oatley family, pending standard regulatory approvals. The sellers issued a comment saying they welcomed the change in ownership of an island that holds a “unique position in the hearts of many Australians” and is known as “Australia’s Tropical Island”. Hamilton Island's Scale and Features Positioned roughly 900 kilometers north of Brisbane and about 500km south of Cairns, Hamilton covers over 1,130 hectares across two islands. Approximately thirty percent of the area is built upon, featuring a significant array of facilities: Five hotels More than 20 restaurants and bars Twenty shops and retail spaces An championship 18-hole golf course on adjacent Dent Island A boat marina and a commercial airport Hamilton Island is noted as a major job provider in the Whitsundays, sustaining a large on-island community and workforce, as well as a wide network of regional partners, suppliers, and local businesses. A Look Back at Ownership The late billionaire Robert Oatley, a renowned yachtsman and winemaker, first bought the resort for $200 million in 2003 after spying the island from the deck a yacht during a voyage through the Whitsundays. The island's development boom initially started in the 1980s. In the decades before that, it was characterized by galvanised iron huts and modest accommodations that hosted domestic holidaymakers from the outback and southern states. Broader Portfolio and Local Heritage Blackstone also owns luxury hotels and resorts in several countries, such as Japan, India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and the United States. The Whitsunday region is the ancestral territory of the Ngaro Indigenous people. Its name comes from Captain James Cook, who sailed the HMS Endeavour through the archipelago on Sunday 3 June 1770, which was the Christian holiday of Whit Sunday.