Less than 1 per cent of Australia’s population lives on the small islands dotted around our continent. This number is growing as more people head across the water after the onset of COVID, rejecting costly city living and office-based work. But is “island paradise” a myth, fuelled by a desperate search for escapism? Or have these far-flung residents truly found the key to happiness? This is the second instalment in a series exploring the realities of island life.
RACHEL BURTON-KRINKS ACKNOWLEDGES she was once a “big-city girl”. When she traded Sydney for Brisbane, she had no idea the Queensland capital had islands. But when a friend brought Coochiemudlo to her attention, the timing couldn’t have been more felicitous. Before Rachel signed the papers on a $500,000 city property where “you could hear your neighbour sneeze” she took the 10-minute ferry across Moreton Bay, south-east of the Brisbane CBD. There she was met with calm beaches on three sides, mangrove forests, melaleuca and mangrove wetlands and friendly locals. She bought the island’s third-cheapest house.
The island’s unique name, Coochiemudlo – or, as the locals say, “Coochie” – originates from the Traditional Owners, the Quandamooka people, who named it kutchi (red) and mudlo (stone) in the Jagera language, after its small but distinctive red cliffs. The 410ha island is located north of MacLeay Island and west of North Stradbroke Island. During her 14-plus years on Coochie, Rachel has enjoyed a lifestyle she couldn’t find in the suburbs: a supportive, artistic community, affordable housing and daily ocean swims. “It’s the only place I’ve lived where I have a personal relationship with the landscape, as if it’s a person,” she says.
