QHA Review January 2018

COMPASS
convenience of everything an urban centre of 10,000
souls has to offer just a gentle amble from the shore.
Part of the secret may also be due to the town’s iconic
landmark lending no clue as to its seaside attraction.
Bowen’s 10-metre tall mango at the southern entrance
to the town celebrates the economic success of
the local horticultural industry. The combination of
an unusually dry climate for a tropical location and
fertile alluvial soil make Bowen a grower’s paradise
for not just mango crops but tomatoes, rockmelons,
capsicums and just about anything else you care to
plant and water. As such, the seasonal nature of the
local economy makes Bowen a popular destination for
back-packers keen to help out with harvests to fund
exploration of the wondrous region.
In March last year Cyclone Debbie, the worst weather
system to hit Queensland in six years, spoilt the party
and bore down on Bowen and the Whitsundays from
the Coral Sea. For several tortuous hours Debbie
turned an idyllic corner of the world into a maelstrom
of wind, water, uprooted trees and flying roofs as it
drove its way inland. Homes, business and crops
copped her full fury.
The blue skies and tranquil seas may have returned
but the social and economic impact of Cyclone Debbie
still hangs over the Whitsundays community. But
things are looking up with the Whitsundays Regional
Council recently announcing it had acquired almost
$200 million to distribute among recovery projects over
the next year and a half.
Confirmed projects will include a $40 million airport
upgrade, $24 million for Airlie Beach’s Shute Harbour
restoration, $37 million for Greening and Growing
Bowen and a further $75 million anticipated from
Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.
Bowen is currently home to five hardy QHA-member
hotels.
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