In 2002, Ralph and Caralyn Mansfield bought 26 hectares of Ram Island off Tasmania’s east coast, a weed‑laden parcel with no jetty or infrastructure.
The island was 80% overgrown with gorse, and the couple had to clear scrub, rocks and dead logs before any building could start.
Ralf, a former construction contractor, engineered a landing barge that transported 38 truckloads of timber, steel and concrete across the water in just two days, a feat he described as the biggest logistical job he had undertaken. A local fisherman, John Smith, supplied fresh fish for the crew during the build.
They designed a house that blends with the landscape, using silvertop ash timber and blackheart sassafras, and installed a 45‑kW solar array with battery storage, a 250,000‑litre rainwater tank and a backup generator, making the island self‑sufficient.
After four years of island life, the Mansfields sold Ram Island in 2026 to a local businessman tied to Tasmania; the property remains one of only 11 privately owned islands in the state.