General News
10 November, 2025
Greatest jobs in the world
TASMANIAN couple Don and Lee Cameron have traded the icy south for tropical paradise – stepping into the “best job in the world” as caretakers of Low Island, off Port Douglas on the Great Barrier Reef.
While the new caretakers of the Wonga Beach Caravan Park say the worldwide interest in their new lifestyle role has made their appointment even more special.
The Camerons won a recent tender process to become the island’s new caretakers, living and working on the coral cay amid turquoise waters, coral gardens and nesting seabirds.
Low Island is home to one of Queensland’s oldest lighthouses, first lit in 1878. The island and surrounding reef attract about 50,000 tourists a year for snorkelling and island tours.
As caretakers, the couple will be responsible for maintaining the island’s grounds and heritage buildings, welcoming people and liaising with tour operators, and monitoring visitor compliance with marine park rules.
“It’s the best job in the world in a tropical paradise, but it’s also hard work,” Mr Cameron said.
“We’re responsible for everything from cleaning, maintaining and repairing heritage buildings and infrastructure, to managing weeds and reporting compliance issues.”
For his wife Lee, the tropical island life is a welcome sea change to the icy, windswept outposts of the Southern Ocean.
“We wanted something meaningful,” she said. “It’s about living simply and helping protect one of the most beautiful places on earth.”
Douglas Shire Council had a trickle of applications for the position before media reports on the role saw interest spike.
Staff were overwhelmed by hundreds of inquiries from across Australia and overseas following the segment but eventually found two outstanding applicants in Richard Martin and Karen Atwell of Blackwater.
Mr Martin said the interest in the position took them by surprise.
“We put our application in on the second day that it opened. And then the television advert – if you want to call it that – came on and we’ve gone, ‘Holy heck, this position that we’ve applied for has gone Australia-wide, if not nationwide,’” he recalled on Douglas Shire Council podcast DSC For You & Me.
“So, it was a bit of a shock to us, but it got great promotion for the area and great promotion for the Douglas Shire.”
Ms Atwell said the extra attention made their recent appointment as caretakers even more special. “Richard and I both look at each other every day and just feel so blessed,” she said.
The park doesn’t have the features of the giant holiday parks, but Mr Martin said it was the implicity that made it appealing to many.
Read More: Wonga Beach
