Over the years since the first lease taken out by D C Gorton in 1883, South Molle Island has witnessed many owners come and go. But the Bauer’s tenure was by far the longest and one of the most successful.
In 1937, when Ernest (Ern) Bauer observed islands for sale in the Whitsundays, he chose South Molle with its north-facing bay and permanent water supply. He wanted to provide a healthy environment for his eight children and figured twenty guests per week would sustain their needs. Since their home was already a focal point for young people to gather socially, there appeared little adjustment necessary.
Ernest took over the lease from Henry Lamond who possessed the island since 1923. The purchase involved a swap of the family’s dairying property in Brisbane with a large furnished family home for the island, livestock, primitive dwelling with no electricity and a pit lavatory. Enter the pioneers: daughter, Ruth, recalled, “My mother cried. We children thought we were in heaven. The water was so blue, clear and warm - nothing could keep us out of it and we became as brown as berries.”
The arrival of the weekly Correspondence School course, however, put an end to their little games. But there was great joy when the electricity generating plant arrived by cargo ship, which also homed their pony, “Star”, who was lowered over the side to swim ashore behind the boat.
While existing resorts had corrugated iron bungalows with coral for the floors, the Queensland Government Tourist Bureau insisted that Ern build fibro cabins with wooden floors before they would be included on the books. These building materials had to be shipped from Brisbane. The cabins and a large central complex of lounge, dining room, kitchen, shop, office and family accommodation were eventually completed, and a slow trickle of guests began to arrive.
Ernest and Anna became far too busy to supervise their children’s schooling, so Anna took a house in Proserpine where the children attended school and went home weekends to help. Ruth especially remembered peeling potatoes around an iron tub as their contribution to the Sunday influx of day visitors who dined on roast dinners, plum pudding, fruit salad and island cream.
The Bauer’s self-sufficiency included home-grown lamb, pork, fresh vegies, milk, cream and butter. Sheep had to be rounded up for shearing, the wool baled in the woolshed and shipped to Dalgetys in Brisbane.
Progress was steady and each year extra cabins were constructed. Guest numbers increased to the extent that shipbuilders had to be commissioned to construct a 72-foot TSMV (named “Crest”) suitable for both cruises and transport. Even with these larger numbers, the Bauers were still able to retain the “family” atmosphere.
When the Pacific War was declared, shelters were dug in the hills and provisions cached there. Since Japanese luggers had called in for water supplies, the family feared they would return. However, the only “invasion” was from army personnel from a camp outside Proserpine and Air Force personnel from Bowen-based Catalinas which landed in the bay on R and R. The Navy’s presence in Cid Harbour and manoeuvres down the passage were a comfort to the family.
Reg Ansett’s purchase and development of Daydream and Hayman Islands heralded the entrance of “Big Business” to the Whitsundays, an area previously operated by family units. But under the Bauer family’s ownership, South Molle remained a “Mecca” for families and young people.
It is indeed sad, today, to see this once popular island languishing.
Story and photo courtesy of Proserpine Historical Museum and recollections from Ruth Dunstan (nee Bauer)
