Private island in Queensland deserted by buyer put back on market for under $1m

At less than $1m, the asking price of Poole Island in the Whitsundays is less than an average home in Australia’s major cities. Photograph: Private Islands Online Australia

A week out from settling the sale of a private island in the Whitsundays’ pristine waters, the buyer has disappeared.

It is not the plot of a murder mystery novel, but a real quandary faced by the directors of Private Islands Online Australia, Richard and Norelle Vanhoff, who have had to put Poole Island back on the market.