Luxury property developer Chiodo has announced plans for a new five-star resort on K’gari, or Fraser Island.
The development will be done in partnership with the K’gari Educational and Cultural Centre Aboriginal Corporation and the Butchulla people.
The resort will be built in the Queensland World Heritage Area that attracts approximately 400,000 visitors per year.
The joint venture is the first of its kind, and it aims to provide local employment opportunities while offering cultural experiences for guests.
Butchulla elder Norman Barney praised the development, saying that it would allow young people on the island to access new job opportunities and career paths, both locally and internationally. He also emphasised that the resort would highlight Butchulla culture in new ways.
The resort will feature 62 luxury villas, 64 premium suites, and several amenities, including a beach club bar and rooftop, multiple restaurants, an amphitheatre for cultural events, an Aboriginal art studio, and a wellness centre. It will also include conference and reception centres for events and weddings.
Chiodo principal Paul Chiodo expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating that the company‘s vision was to create a culturally-significant and environmentally-conscious hotel that offered all the luxury of a five-star resort.
“Our vision is to deliver a culturally-significant and environmentally-conscious hotel that still has all the hallmarks of a luxury hotel,” Mr Chiodo said via the Courier Mail.
“Importantly, the resort will also provide a cultural and educational experience for both local and international guests with opportunities involving dance performances, fire performances, music, smoking ceremonies, basket weaving, teaching and painting, storytelling and the like.”
While the plans have yet to be finalised, Chiodo has received initial support from the Fraser Coast Council and the state government as the resort has the potential to provide significant economic benefits to the area while promoting cultural understanding and appreciation.
However, Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation secretary Christine Royan said the group had not been contacted by the company about the plans for the luxury resort.
“We will not support how they have approached this, by going to one family without coming to the prescribed body corporation,” she said via The Toowoomba Chronicle.
“We were surprised as anyone that it had been published without consultation.”
Ms Royan said developers should have done more research into Butchulla culture before releasing designs for their quarter-billion dollar project.
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“They would have to look at the environment concept of what K’gari is about and it’s not that,” she said.
“Our number one rule is what is good for the country comes first, the second rule is that if you have plenty you must share and do not take or touch anything that does not belong to you.
“Only leave footprints.”
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