The Battle for Percy Island

Middle Percy Island is a cruisers icon. From Mathew Flinders to Eric Hiscock to modern coastal cruisers this island is a must stop on the voyage north to the Whitsundays. Originallya pastoral lease, the island was bought by an eccentric Englishman in the sixties who turned it into a haven for boaties by offering provisions and fresh made bread in exchange for company and transport of mail and etc. Suffering deluisions and apparent alzhiemers, he sold the island for $10 to a young man with reputed ties to bikie gangs and the fight is on. I've been covering the story for several years and it is now coming to a head with the national TV getting in on it. I have posted many of the articles I have done on the web site today (05-06-06) in html. To get a background of what it is all about see http://www.thecoastalpassage.com/thepercystory.html

Cheers

Bob

[SurferShane]

As soon as I arrived at the island leaseholder John Morris was waiting at the A-frame with the same sympathy spiel. I fell for it and look what happened to me! See,

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f108/the-boats-that-ate-percy-35327-2.html#post394557

I am a good listener and after being forced to spend a week or more on the island it became all too apparent that things I was being told did not quite add up. Likewise, after I posted about my incident the leaseholders both threatened me with a defamation suit and have again started to “contradict themselves” (basically litigate and lie to protect their interest in the island).

Then as far as my observations of the island being in a state of disrepair with no real procedures in place to address the various safety concerns, I am then advised by the leaseholders that they don’t have public liability insurance to cover critical areas they control and damage I suffered.. Wanting to live some sort of subsistence lifestyle is one thing, but recklessness and sheer negligence is another. On this point, I note the leaseholder John Morris actually told me he works in the mines earring a very high wage in a position that inherently involves occupational health and safety. You really think he would know better?

So they want to blame the Bikie? Well as I discovered there are probably some very serious reasons behind why National Parks are now trying to resume their lease.

[why me?]

Just in case someone reads the above post and doesn't know the story, The Percy Island crew appear to be good people who have fought hard to preserve a cruising icon and continue a legacy begun by Andrew Martin, the islands owner many years ago. Their version of events concerning the poster above are remarkably different than the wild claims offered by surfershane. Please read their side here if you like, I have. I also rang the Coastal Passage and was impressed by the volume and quality of information. Bob Norson considered the copy's I forwarded as "pathetic smears" and irrelevant to Queensland cruisers that have been there lately but vessels visiting from other states or countries may be mislead.

[svstrider]

There was an increasingly vitriolic thread from Surfer Shane and other members who felt that SS was being unreasonable about his criticisms of the Middle Percy folk. This thread was eventually stopped by the moderator. Hopefully, this thread is not headed the same way.

[Janet H]

Sorry folks - but after another bitter go 'round in the this thread, it's been closed as well.