It was published: 11 months ago
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Flagstaff Hill volunteer Gerard Bourke has combined his decades of teaching experience, love of history and fascination with rockets in a brand-new children's book.
Robert's Rocket Rescue is the first in a planned series of books inspired by the buildings and historic artefacts of Flagstaff Hill.
With a 50-year teaching career across south-west Victoria, Ballarat, Melbourne and Hobart, Gerard was a natural fit for the role of school teacher in the village. He has volunteered at Flagstaff Hill for about six years and regularly speaks with visiting school groups.
“At the end of most of the classes that I take for the Grade 1 and 2s, I tell them a story,” Mr Bourke said.
“One of the stories that I would tell them was the story of the rocket station at Flagstaff Hill.
“After a couple of years it grew into the story of a boy, who was part of the rocket station, and he participates in a rescue.
“I wrote this story down just to capture it.
“Robin (Goodall) is my brother-in-law. He’s a brilliant artist. He read the story and he put in lots of illustrations, and it really lifts the book.”
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, rockets were used to fire rescue lines to ships in peril, with Flagstaff Hill’s rocket rescue equipment and tales of rescues in Lady Bay the inspiration for Gerard's story.
“It has a light rope attached to the rocket, which is sent over the ship in distress,” Mr Bourke said.
“This is used to pull about a sturdy rope, which is then secured to a mast, and also to a tripod on the beach, and the people on board could pull themselves along the rope through the surf.
“There used to be a rocket rescue station in behind where the Pavilion restaurant is today, and it used to have rails that were in a shed, and they used to roll the rescue boats down and into the surf.
Robert’s Rocket Rescue will be launched at Flagstaff Hill at 2pm on Saturday September 6.
And as Gerard explains, it won’t be the only thing launched on the day.
“I’m a physics and maths teacher, and I’m also a rocketeer, meaning I’m a member of the Victorian Rocketeers Association,” he said.
“As part of the launch I’m going to fire some rockets. They’re about a foot to 18 inches tall and they have a chemical rocket that’s inside them.
“They go up about 800m high and shoot off their nose cone, release a parachute and waft down to earth.”
Entry to Flagstaff Hill is free for Warrnambool City Council residents via the Local Ambassador Program.
Robert’s Rocket Rescue will be available to purchase from the Flagstaff Hill gift shop.