Hamilton Island is believed to be named after a crew member of the survey vessels that charted the area in 1866–68. The resort opened in phases between 1982 and 1984. In 1985, a fire destroyed most of the central portion of the resort complex, which was completely rebuilt by 1986. The Whitsunday Holiday Apartments opened in 1986 followed by the Reef View Hotel in 1990. In 1992 the resort was placed in receivership and between 1995 and 2003 it was owned by BT Australia and managed by
Holiday Inn for a portion of that time. In 1999, the five-star Beach Club opened. The island was purchased by the Oatley family, operators of a winemaking business, in 2003 and was listed for sale in 2023, shortly after taking the island off of the market, the Oatley family decided to invest further in Hamilton Island instead of selling. Hamilton Island State School opened on 28 January 1986. In 1987
George Harrison and his wife
Olivia Harrison built a compound on the island in the South Pacific theme, which they called "Letsbeavenue". They lived there seasonally throughout the remainder of George's life. The residence still exists and is located on Melaleuca Ave, but was sold by the family in 2008, involving a legal dispute. In 2009, there were two key infrastructure and tourism developments completed for the resort: the
Hamilton Island Yacht Club, officially completed and opened by former Queensland Premier
Anna Bligh during
Hamilton Island Race Week, and the
Hamilton Island Golf Club's new championship resort course, which opened in August 2009. The 18-hole course, on neighbouring
Dent Island, measures and is billed as the only championship island golf course in Australia. In 2009,
Tourism Queensland promoted the
Great Barrier Reef as a global tourism destination with a website encouraging people worldwide to apply for "
The Best Job in the World", to be a "Caretaker of the Islands" to "house-sit" the islands of the Great Barrier Reef for half a year, based on Hamilton Island. In September 2016, it was reported by news media outlets that the Queensland
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) had issued damage mitigation permits that resulted in over 1,000 animals being
culled on Hamilton Island between November 2014 and May 2016 by the resort's operator. Over 18 months, the cull resulted in the death of 599
common brushtail possums, 393
agile wallabies, 36
pied currawongs, 35
sulphur-crested cockatoos, three
torresian crows and a
laughing kookaburra. The EHP stated the role of the permits were to allow the "ongoing management of some wildlife species to prevent unacceptable levels of damage, and to protect public safety at the airport and in the resort itself". The resort management stated that "any culling of animals and birds is done as a last resort when all other methods have been exhausted". The
RSPCA were unaware of any culling on the Island. The resort's management carried out the culls “to prevent damage or loss of property and to protect the health and wellbeing of staff, guests and other visitors”. Social media users were critical of the cull. In January 2025, the
Fair Work Ombudsman found that Hamilton Island Enterprises Ltd had
underpaid thousands of salaried staff. This stemmed from errors in payroll practices, particularly regarding awards and pay rates, which resulted in staff not receiving their full entitlements. HIE signed an enforceable undertaking agreement and back-paid staff $28.1 million. The company was also required to implement a range of workplace changes, including an independent audit of salaried workers. In December 2025, American investment company
Blackstone Inc. entered an agreement to purchase the island. == Demographics ==