15 Babies Welcomed to the Community

15 new faces in the Whitsundays community out in Hansen park with there families. Photo supplied: Mayor Ry Collins

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Fifteen of Bowen’s newest residents received an official welcome at Hansen Park on Sunday morning, with proud parents bringing their babies along for a local tradition that began over 20 years ago.

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Hosted by the Bowen Lions ladies, the annual Baby Welcoming Ceremony gives families a chance to mark their child’s arrival with the wider community.  

Each family received a certificate before parents caught up over cake and spoke about their first year of parenthood, as well as what they hoped for as their children grew up in the Whitsundays.

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The ceremony first began after Bowen Hospital’s maternity ward closed. For the Lions ladies, it was a way to make sure babies born elsewhere still received a welcome in the town their families call home.

“We feel that welcoming the babies into the community is important as most of them are not born in their hometown anymore,” Bowen Lions’ Bev Dyne said of the tradition back in 2023.  

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Mayor of the Whitsundays Ry Collins joined families at the park and thanked the Bowen Lions ladies for keeping this tradition alive.  

“A big thank you to the Bowen Lions ladies for continuing to make this special event happen year after year,” Mayor Collins said.  

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As for one of the morning’s more traditional mayoral duties, Collins was happy to hand it over.

“And, in the interests of sensible delegation, I left all baby-kissing duties to the Mayoress,” he wrote.