Silver Gull Creek was originally a freshwater supply point, established 100 nautical miles north of Derby in the 1950s, for the handful of mines and passing boats in the archipelago.
It was later transformed into a remote homestead by Phil Wray and Marion Smart, who arrived by yacht in the 1990s. They set to work building a house, a tropical garden, and a freshwater swimming tank – no easy feat when there are no tradesmen for hundreds of kilometres and materials have to be brought in by yacht.
Phil was devoted to his wife Marion, and when she died in July 2014, he was forced to reconsider his future. The homestead is now deserted but it’s extraordinary tales live on in local history.