70th Anniversary Catalina Memorial and Fly-in at Bowen Airport and Bowen Front Beach This Weekend

Tourism Bowen in conjunction with the Bowen RSL will be hosting the 70th Anniversary Catalina Memorial & Fly-In on Saturday 17 August to remember the loss of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Catalina A24-24, along with 14 of the 16 lives onboard.

The crash site, approximately 9nm north of Bowen, was not located at the time hence those lost were never found. During World War II Bowen was the site of a Catalina base; the Catalina A24-24 is of special historic significance to Bowen in that it was the first Catalina to arrive in Bowen and is the last remaining, albeit some 40m underwater.

Shane Porteous, best known for playing original character Dr Terence Elliott in the television drama series “A Country Practice”, will be the event ambassador for the Memorial. Shane Porteous’ father, the late Pilot Officer Stanley John Porteous was one of the 14 men that died in the 1943 Catalina crash. Shane will be attending the memorial to honour his father.

The memorial will be held at the Catalina Memorial on Santa Barbara Parade in Bowen. The memorial will host a Fly-In (at the Bowen Airport), amusement rides, food stalls, and plaque unveiling at the memorial and crash site.

For anybody interested in flying in there will be no landing fees at the Bowen Airport and transport to and from the event.

For more details visit www.bowencatalinamemorial.com.au or contact the Bowen Visitor Information Centre on 0747 864 222 - email: info@tourismbowen.com.au

Information courtesy of Tourism Bowen, who would also like to thank the following for making the event possible: North Queensland Bulk Ports Corp, Whitsunday Regional Council, Bowen Independent, Jamie Hillery / Bowen Earth Moving, Andrew Willcox, Tourism & Events Queensland, GVK Hancock Coal Infrastructure, Whitsunday Marketing & Development, Shane Porteous, and McDermott’s Motors.