Semiretired Melbourne signwriter Ron O'Brien isn't marooned on Wedge Island at the bottom of Spencer Gulf, but has has earned the nickname Gilligan after the 1960s television series Gilligan's Island, for spending a lot of time isolated on the island.

There are six homes so far on the 10 square kilometre island but for most of the year he's the only person living there among the bettongs and wallabies.

Surviving for him is a lot easier than for the Gilligan's Island characters, but it still takes a bit of the professor's ingenuity to get by.

He gets asked a lot about the isolation and how he gets by on the island. He says it’s paradise and more people should slowdown and appreciate nature and the simpler things in life.

Video produced by Jodie Hamilton.

Subscribe http://ab.co/ABCAussubscribe

___________________________________________

Web: http://abc.net.au/
Facebook:   / abc  
Twitter:   / abcaustralia  
Instagram:   / abcaustralia  

___________________________________________

Please note: On most of our videos, the captions/subtitles are autogenerated by YouTube.

This is an official Australian Broadcasting Corporation YouTube channel. Contributions may be removed if they violate ABC's Online Conditions of Use http://www.abc.net.au/conditions.htm (Section 3).