Annie Cannon-Brookes, the wife of tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, has added to her vast property portfolio with the purchase of Dunk Island in Far North Queensland for $24 million with plans to rejuvenate the faded resort.

It is the first foray into the Great Barrier Reef region for the Cannon-Brookes’ who sit in third place on the AFR Rich List and own an extensive array of real estate in NSW including homes in Sydney’s upmarket eastern suburbs, Pittwater and six significant properties in the Southern Highlands.

Cannon-Brookes, known as the crusading anti-fossil fuel billionaire, is co-founder of the Atlassian tech empire and is also a part owner of the Utah Jazz basketball team.

A spokesperson for Annie Cannon-Brookes said: “Annie has purchased the land with the intent to preserve its natural beauty for years to come”.

The 147 ha freehold Dunk Island, which has been closed since early 2011 after being battered by Cyclone Yasi, has an existing 160-room hotel, a 9-hole golf course and a day spa. It sits 4 km off Mission Beach near Cairns.

The sale follows the November 2021 purchase by Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and his wife Nicola’s private investment company Tattarang of Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef for $42 million.

In May, burgeoning developer Glenn Piper paid around $10 million for the leasehold of Hook Island in the southern Whitsundays’ area where he plans to open an eco-lodge.

But amid these deals, many other Queensland island resorts sit empty and are in dire straits having been hit by bad weather and the global pandemic.

Billionaire Gina Rinehart was reported as being interested in the former popular hot spot of the 1980s Great Keppel Island, also in the Whitsundays, but a deal did not eventuate. The Queensland government is hoping the fortunes for the assets will change as the entire state gears up to host the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.