WE SAVED AN ISLAND!

Forty years ago, Lady Elliot Island, which sits on the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef, lay barren and windswept, having been mined for guano in the 1860s. There was barely a tree left.

- By Emma Levett

It caught the attention of former motorbike racer, Peter Gash, then 24, who was visiting the island with his girlfriend Julie. They were struck by its potential.

He began a tourist business flying visitors out to see the nearby Lady Musgrave Island before his attention turned back to Lady Elliot.

With hustle, hard work and a bit of luck, Peter and his now-wife Julie secured a 30-year lease to the island and its 150-bed eco-resort in 2005. They launched a revegetation plan and set out on a mission to plant 10,000 trees.

Twenty years on, the island has come back to life, bringing with it a richer birdlife and marine life.