Editor's Note

“You’re not old, you’re fantastic!”

These were the words of my young son during the week of his eighth birthday when I mentioned my ever-increasing age.

I think he was probably buttering me up ahead of his ‘Party Royale’ Fortnite-themed birthday bash this Friday, but it still felt nice to be called fantastic!

Anyway, this week is big not just because of my son’s birthday, but also due to a certain imminent rocket launch in Bowen.

After years of preparation, the launch window has finally arrived and the whole region is buzzing with excitement!

Although thrilled with the news, we all had a good laugh at the office when we heard the expected launch date – you see, we go to print on Wednesday, and the paper is distributed on Friday.

This means Gilmour very selfishly picked the one day when our paper is in limbo!

If we write about the rocket launch happening on Thursday and it doesn't, we would be wrong; but if we don’t mention it, we’ll miss some of the biggest news the Whitsundays has seen in years – maybe ever!

How exciting that our region is playing a part in making history!

To think, this all started thanks to Bowen’s fortunate geography – the perfect latitude, its remote location, and just the right proximity to what’s needed. All the stars aligned (literally!) to make the Whitsundays part of Australia’s first space adventure.

School kids are chatting about it in classrooms and playgrounds, tourists are flocking to our region, spending money just to get a glimpse of the launch, and Bowen is about to go down in history as the site of Australia’s first rocket launch.

Whether or not the rocket successfully soars eight minutes into the sky on Thursday and reaches orbit, this is still a momentous occasion for all of us!

Good luck to the incredibly talented team at Gilmour, and thanks for bringing space travel to the Whitsundays.

Rach

Quote of the Week: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go” (T.S. Eliot)

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