Jill B Bruce: Lady Elliot Island on Southern Great Barrier Reef

Lady Elliot Island on Southern Great Barrier Reef

my new book!

When we visited Lady Elliot Island (LEI as locals call it!) in October 2019 we were amazed to view a tropical island that had been completely rehabilitated from a coral desert to a lush tropical garden. The Island had been almost totally denuded of vegetation by guano (bird droppings) miners from 1863 to 1873. The Island lay desolate until 1969 when entrepreneur Don Adams took a lease on the Island. He brought in equipment and bulldozed an airstrip in one day! His lease specified that he must attempt to revegetate the damaged environment. He did this and began a small resort on the Island.

Today, the Resort is owned by Peter Gash and his family who have brought the island back to a lush tropical paradise by planting some 10,000 trees and plants. They have introduced solar power for most of the resorts needs, they recycle the waste water for the plants and mulch most other wastes for garden compost. Water is obtained from the ocean and treated in a desalination plant on the island for all their needs. The Island is committed to ecological methods and environmental preservation. LEI has the second highest bird nesting population on the Great Barrier Reef. In season turtles breed on the island and Manta rays and a myriad of fish are found in nearby waters. A magical place.

WE saw the need for a book for tourists to buy to take home as a souvenir of their visit. So in collaboration with Island Management through Amy Gash I have written a book called:-