Percy Island Conservation Group Inc.
ABN 65 340 254 392
Registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission on 11 October 2024 (registration number AI4781103)
Bank details
| Account | BSB | Account number |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday account (purchases and PIYC) | 633 000 | 222 501 496 |
| Donations and gifts account | 633 000 | 226 687 796 |
Account name: Percy Island Conservation Group Inc. (PICG Inc.)
Thank you
Thank you for helping keep Middle Percy Island open for everyone to experience a little piece of Australian history from a bygone era, and the serenity of this unique island.
Percy Island was previously managed privately, for the benefit of cruising traditions and to protect the island’s unique values. To stop it becoming a commercial eco-resort, potentially closed to mariners, Andy Martin’s cousin Cate Radclyffe reached out to other friends of Middle Percy Island to form a not-for-profit association. Our hope is that the island will be managed well into the future, with younger people taught by the residents to follow sustainable land management and food production, in the traditions so loved by the maritime community and other lucky visitors.
We formed the association in October 2024 to act as Grantee for the Percy Island Conservation Park (113 ha), under Section 34 of the Nature Conservation Act. This is administered by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers at the Whitsunday National Park office, under the Rockhampton regional headquarters.
The conservation park is the area bounded by the long and short tracks. It includes the four dwellings for resident volunteers, the airfield area with its water catchments, and West Bay, with the famous A-frame meeting place and the coconut palms (from Dunk Island) that Andy planted in the 1970s.
How the island is funded
The island literally runs on honey money and memberships, which cover the management costs and insurance. Donations and successful grant applications are a bonus. The essential ingredient is the generosity of the volunteers and residents who give their time, expertise and money to run the island for the community. Between you, me and the bees, the tradition of Percy Island can continue.
Other ways to help
- Buy honey: organic Percy Island honey is sold on trust. Pay at the honesty box at the A-frame, online using the form at the honesty box, or at the Tree House, West Bay.
- Join the Yacht Club: PIYC memberships cover the island’s insurance.
- Lend a hand with the bees: we hope to keep the Golden Italian bees free of the varroa mite spreading on the mainland, and one day to breed queen bees as an asset for the nation. Experienced beekeepers are always welcome to help with the seasonal management and honey harvest; please introduce yourself to the residents.
Run by volunteers
The Percy Island Conservation Group Inc. is run entirely by volunteers. Passionate about the environment and Percy’s history, the volunteer custodians manage the island and the Homestead, and must be proactive to live self-sufficiently on such a remote island. Apart from the island’s own resources, all materials and equipment, such as the solar power system, come from the mainland on private boats.
Harvesting rainwater is vital for drinking, bathing, cleaning, the vegetable garden and the animals. When none of the resident volunteers owns a boat, they rely on mariners for help; it’s a bonus when a resident can bring all the supplies (food, fuel, equipment and materials) to and from the island in their own boat. At present the residents pay for their own supplies, as well as the communications systems.
The resident volunteers are kept busy with the daily chores of living off-grid. Farm life includes an orchard, vegetable garden, coconut palms and 26 beehives, plus bottling and stocking the honey, growing and processing food, clearing and marking the bush tracks for walkers, and collecting rubbish that washes ashore.
Managing the island is surprisingly busy, so volunteers are always welcome. Every little bit helps!
The island is mainly for the benefit of mariners, and relies on the generosity of seafarers, both by volunteering during their visit and becoming part of its extraordinary culture, and by helping financially to maintain and improve the island.
The resident volunteers get a great boost when visitors recognise how important it is to help out, so the island can thrive. Thank you to every one of the thousands of cruisers who have visited Percy Island and volunteered, donated, helped in any way, generously left supplies or traded for Percy’s liquid gold, organic honey.
Thank you!