To build or buy on Russell Island and what part of the island is best to live on?

Thank you for you insight, I have been looking at established homes on the internet- just cannot get there as I am from Victoria

Same as anywhere else, you can benefit from someone's else hard work, those who have to or have chosen to leave the islands and buy an established home OR build your own, you can still build a home here, after extra costings for transport of building material at a reasonable cost. Where to live, once again, depends on what you are after: buy/build north if you want to/need to be close to the ferry terminal, shops, clubs and cafes OR buy/build south, for more privacy and the quiet, but of course you will definitely need a vehicle or be prepared to pay for a taxi or the Little Bus each time you go out as no public transport on the islands. There tends to be more elevated land on the south of the island, some with great views of Stradbroke Island, but also the land can be a bit more rocky to build on