A real-life, modern day Robinson Crusoe/ex millionaire castaway story this.

76 yr old David Glasheen lost it all but found 'heaven' on a remote island in Nth Queensland, Australia these last 22 years.



In his earlier life he lived in Sydney where he built a multi-million-dollar mining company. But he lost most of his family's wealth, around $37 million today, in the stock market crash of 1987. Shortly after, his marriage broke down. He was "wounded, seriously wounded". He arrived on Restoration Island after hearing about it through a friend — and never left. The wilderness was named by famous seafarer Captain Bligh, who stopped at the island to restore his crew’s health in 1789 after a mutiny on board the ill-fated Bounty.









Once a year, David heads to Cairns to load up a trawler with a top-up of supplies. Describing the annual shop, he sounds a bit like a kid at Christmas. "It's pretty good to go shopping. It's pretty exciting," he says. "The first thing I do is get some steaks and get some ice-creams and yoghurts, all those beaut things."

Living on the island has forced David to deal with challenges beyond those relating to everyday survival. It's a life that means living away from family, including his 21-year-old son, and an older daughter who's never visited the island. David's third child took her own life about six years ago, something he describes as "incredibly difficult".

Despite having limited electricity, fresh water and facing regular battles against deadly wildlife, the bearded exile insists he feels safe on the island. He said: “Here there are snakes, spiders and crocodiles but it is safer here than lots of other parts of the world when you hear about terrorist attacks.

“But being on your own you do miss intelligent conversation and the physical contact of other people. “I would love to find a partner who wants to live with me here, or a couple of ladies who want to come and visit a couple of times a year.











Full stories: https://nypost.com/2017/06/20/man-loses ... mpaign=DM3

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-23/ ... g/11310184