Keepers of the Reef

The innovative hotelier: Laureth Rumble

5/6

A year after buying 10-suite Elysian Retreat in 2018, Laureth Rumble, along with her husband, Wayne, and brother Charlton Craggs, turned it beyond carbon neutral. “We wanted Elysian to be the first 100 per cent solar-powered luxury island resort on the Great Barrier Reef,” says Rumble, who sold Elysian last year but still operates the more humble, also beyond carbon neutral, Pumpkin Island, off the coast of Yeppoon.

“That way, we could show others it was possible. Builders, other tourism operators – they all said we couldn’t do it.” But they did and Elysian, located in the Whitsundays on Long Island (and now owned and operated by the Smyth family), proves that luxury and sublime relaxation can come with eco credentials. Guests enjoy comforts such as coffee machines, horizon pools, a small spa, air con, fine dining (excellent grilled squid; earthy mushroom risotto with chicken saltimbocca), plus a free-flowing selection of Australian beers and wines. And spirits produced in a zero-waste distillery from Rumble’s new project, Reef Distillers. Even the staff seem delighted to have found their vocations in paradise.

Now other island resorts, such as Lady Elliot and Orpheus, are following suit. Rumble puts her approach to change simply: “I’ve always been of the mindset that if everyone does a little bit then a lot gets done.”