A millionaire stockbroker turned island castaway has been forced to admit that he may need ‘some help’

‘I’m not 18 anymore, it’s heavier and harder. I fainted one day and then fell and broke my hip. The phones don’t work when you need them half the time, so the best security I could get is more people,’ he told news.com.au.

‘The wheels start falling off when you’re 80. That’s what happens.’

 Mr Glasheen stated that he has been looking for someone to join him on the island, while dingos are entertaining, they cannot call for help if he gets into danger.

He stated that he would offer stipends to a middle-aged couple with the necessary abilities to assist on the island because he cannot afford to pay a full wage.

The castaway has tried to obtain assistance through Gumtree, but has yet to find anyone prepared to pack up and relocate to the lonely island.

He stated that he required some ‘back-up’ after suffering a blood clot that may have killed him if left untreated for another day.

‘If things go wrong, your life is at risk and you’re really aware of it,’ he said.

‘The wild is pretty severe; it’s a tough world. Things are forever going wrong, and you’ve just got to deal with it.’

However, for Mr Glasheen, leaving his island home of 25 years is not an option.

He has made a home for himself amid the rugged wilderness and says he wishes he had hadn’t been born in the city but raised on the island instead.

The castaway is tuned in to current events in Australia and beyond but admitted the Covid-19 pandemic hadn’t affected him at his remote home.

Speaking on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said ‘men are the problem’ and called on women to take over and stop men from killing each other for their resources.

Mr Glasheen said he wished Vladimir Putin would ‘realise that he’s failed’.

The castaway also shared some philosophical musings on society’s expectations of young men and women.

‘I wish I’d never been in the city, I wish I was born here in the bushes. We all do the same thing. We leave school. We’re expected to go into our mother or father’s businesses, or take over things from the family, or be doctors, lawyers or accountants or whatever.

‘And we did all that. Half of the marriages failed. And you’ve got all the broken families and kids everywhere. And we wonder why every one is a bit dysfunctional,’ he told news.com.au.

Mr Glasheen is due to turn 89 in August and will spend his birthday with his beloved dingo Zeddie, who replaced Polly after she was bitten by an adder snake.

He told MailOnline Travel in April, 2020 that he had first moved to the island with a suitcase containing ‘three shirts, two pairs of shorts and swimmers, a decent torch, a couple of books, a jar of chilli powder, some toothpaste and my toothbrush’.

The 78-year-old has an essential list of things that enable him to enjoy life in isolation, including a solar-powered internet connection, a stockpile of good books and two mannequins (Miranda and Phyllis) for company.

For drinking, he collects rainwater and water also comes from a catchment in the hilly areas of the island and says the ocean contains ‘all the protein’ he needs.

For that reason, fishing tackle, a cast net for catching bait, a flintstone for lighting a fire and a bush knife are among Glasheen’s essential items.

‘It’s like living in Jurassic Park,’ he says of his hunter-gatherer exploits.

Coconuts, acidic beach almonds, bush cherries, native capers, and wongai plums are among the other edibles available on Restoration Island, or Resto as Mr Glasheen affectionately refers to it.

The islander also has a stockpile of canned and dry goods, which he acquires on an annual grocery shopping trip to Cairns via small boat.

He was leading a high-flying city life in Sydney before moving to Restoration Island, living on a house overlooking the Harbour with his wife and two children.

However, following the historic Black Tuesday event in 1987, the businessman lost his fortune, and the bank foreclosed on his residence, prompting his wife to divorce him.

He and his then-partner Denise went to the island, but when their child was born, she opted to relocate, claiming that island living was unsafe for a newborn baby.

Meanwhile, he has his two mannequin lovers and a plethora of animals, including his loyal dingo, Zeddie, to keep him company.

Mr Glasheen published The Millionaire Castaway, a book about his story, in 2019.