$398k wiped out: Aus suburbs where home prices fell the most<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
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The sleepy town of Bowen is set to see some major action. Picture: Krystal Hender<\/p>\n
Mr Collins said the space firm could grow to as much as 300 people locally alone \u2013 around five times its current workforce \u2013 all needing somewhere to live in the growing region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see this industry as continuing to develop additional jobs and opportunities for locals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpaceX is an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars and there\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t see that flow into our region as well\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Collins has his sights set high for the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an area well known for tourism already. We can see the opportunity from the first launch when we had around 10,000 people come in to see it. It got scrubbed a few times, but we had people from Perth and Victoria come to watch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His bombshell projection was that visitor numbers could skyrocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think as we progress and these rocket launches become the norm, there is no reason we couldn\u2019t see a Cape Canaveral type situation where 100,000 visitors come for a launch.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a sleepy coastal town, that would be a major transformation.<\/p>\n
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The area is renowned for its tourism offering.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would love to see people frequently come up to watch these, and there are local benefits going to engineering, fabrication, arts and new housing to accommodate workers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the region could handle the influx, given its tourism and air transport offerings.<\/p>\n
The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics named the Whitsunday Coast Airport the fastest-growing airport in Australia late last year \u2013 after an outstanding 15.1 per cent year-on-year passenger increase for August 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery new passenger through Whitsunday Coast Airport means more local jobs, stronger tourism, and greater opportunities for our businesses and communities. This momentum strengthens our case for more government investment, new airline partnerships, and the future expansion needed to keep pace with our region\u2019s growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
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James Hall of Savills \u2013 Brisbane has 1,796 sq m of absolute beachfront land in Bowen listed for sale.<\/p>\n
Official airline figures for December confirm 53,915 passengers travelled through the airport which was a 13 per cent increase year-on-year and the third consecutive month exceeding 50,000 passengers \u2013 something Mr Collins said \u201cconfirms that record-breaking activity is no longer a one-off spike, but part of a sustained trend\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve very quietly been punching above our weight for some time. I was passionate coming into this role to make sure we are more than just tourism, we also have a strong resources base, strong agriculture and now a space industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation\u2019s $75 million investment will turbocharge the firm\u2019s spaceport and rocket manufacturing hub, fast-tracking development of Gilmour Space\u2019s Eris orbital rocket, ramp up satellite and rocket production and massively expand operations at the Bowen launch site. The firm saw a successful 14-second lift-off of its first launch mid-last year, with the company focusing on small, affordable rockets for satellites.<\/p>\n
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The Whitsunday Regional Council mayor is excited for the potential space launches can bring to the Bowen area and the region as a whole.<\/p>\n
Gold Coaster Adam Gilmour, chief executive of Gilmour Space which he co-founded with his brother James, said the funding marked a major vote of confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeveloping sovereign space capability at home gives Australia greater resilience, choice and control. This investment allows us to scale manufacturing and launch capability to meet growing market demand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Australian minister for science Senator Tim Ayres said Queensland has \u201ca bright future in cutting-edge space and rocket technologies and advanced manufacturing\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking things in Australia is about more than just good ideas \u2013 it takes real commitment, skilled workers, unity of purpose and strong collaboration between the public and private sectors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Looking towards the water from 51 Golf Links Road, Bowen \u2013 a four bedroom Queenslander on a 1,012 sq m block listed for sale with Queensland Sotheby\u2019s International Realty agents Lynn Milsom and Wayne Singleton.<\/p>\n
NRFC chief executive David Gall said the expansion would underpin everyday services Australians rely on \u2014 from communications to national security \u2014 while transforming regional economies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will strengthen advanced manufacturing and create highly skilled jobs and opportunities in the region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cashed-up aerospace engineers, rocket scientists and technicians may soon flood into town, along with visitors keen to see launches \u2013 and they\u2019ll need somewhere to live. <\/p>\n
Mr Collins said \u201cwe see it as a really good initiative not just for our region, but something pioneering for Australia generally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gilmour Space Technologies completed the maiden test launch of Australia\u2019s first locally designed and built orbital rocket in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-426597","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}