The Banubanu Beach Retreat on an island off North East Arnhem Land is a tropical paradise.
Story Kirsty McKenzie Photos Ken Brass
Set in eye-squinting, turquoise waters, Bremer Island is a 7.7km by 3km drop in the Arafura Sea, part of the traditional lands of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolngu people. To the south is Gutjangan, a community of about 25 Traditional Custodians, at the northern tip, Banubanu, an eco-retreat run by Irish former vet nurse Eileen O’Doherty and her Italian-descended partner Fulvio Inserra, who has a long career in IT management.
Eileen and Fulvio scoured much of regional and remote Australia looking for a business they could develop. “We travelled all over with a caravan and drove up the Central Arnhem Road,” Eileen says. “Banubanu landed in our laps at the beginning of 2025, when we came over for a weekend. When we arrived, I nudged Fulvio and said, ‘Imagine if this was for sale’. Then we discovered it was.”
The resort goes back to 2005, when a fishing camp was started by Arrernte tourism leader Helen Martin and her partner Trevor Hosie, who had extensive experience in the NT mapping First Nations sacred sites and was an experienced fishing and diving charter operator. At first, they brought guests over for day trips, then lived in a tent while they built the first shelter, which became the resort’s bar and dining room. These days that very modest shack is a museum reflecting Banubanu’s humble origins.
This story excerpt is from issue #166
Outback Magazine: Apr/May 2026
