Elisa Mele, Elisa: People, Places & Stories
Women of Cooloola Coast - IG @womenofcooloolacoast
It was quite the transoceanic leap when Heatley and Michelle Gilmore left London to return to Australia, more precisely, to Rainbow Beach. They had gone to the UK as a family of four and came back to Queensland as six.
After 20 years, multiple businesses, countless projects, and four kids raised with salt in their hair and sun on their cheeks, the Gilmores are waving goodbye to Rainbow and the Cooloola Coast.
But we couldn’t let Michelle go without a chat. That’s what I call it, because honestly, how do you interview an editor? How do you tell a story about a storyteller?
With her trademark personality, Michelle agreed to be on the other side of the note and pen, and to share a few reflections.
Michelle hasn’t just lived in Rainbow Beach, she’s become part of its fabric, like the ones she loves to sew. Arriving as a full-time, busy mother of four young children, she juggled parenting with professional life and eventually embraced entrepreneurship.
In a town where nature is the backdrop and community is the pulse, Michelle built a meaningful livelihood and shared it generously.
Our community might know her best for her work behind the scenes and on the pages of our local paper. Together with Heatley, she owned Rainbow Getaway for six years and steered the Rainbow Beach Community News for nine. They even took on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times.
But Michelle’s path began much earlier - straight out of uni - in her first professional role as a dietitian and nutritionist, working in communities and hospitals, including Toowoomba, passing through Mackay, and eventually Gympie.
Yet, her most cherished title has always been Mum. Family is her anchor and compass. It’s this grounding that gave her the strength and purpose to thrive and help others thrive wherever life took her.
Rainbow Beach, in fact, is the place Michelle and Heatley have lived the longest. Their children were raised here, coastal style: nippers, beach patrols, shifts at the IGA, café, pub, and ice cream shop.
Michelle might appear soft-spoken and graceful, but like every curly-haired soul I know, she’s had to embrace the wild waves, untangle knots, and keep going in all weather. That’s the Michelle we honour as a local Woman of the Cooloola Coast: strong-minded, flexible, and quietly powerful.
Her passion for health and wellbeing rippled through our town, through her nutrition profession, but even after she ended that chapter it showed in the stories she championed, the volunteering she embraced, and the friendships she nurtured.
I asked her a few questions during our inspiring couch conversation:
Q. How did you adjust to life in a small regional community after London?
Easily! I felt very welcomed here. Playgroup and the school became a big part of our family’s social life. Our book club is a powerhouse of women.
The most supportive person has always been Heatley. I know this is about a woman, but I want him recognised too, he’s been the pathfinder. Without him, I wouldn’t have done any of it.
Q. From dietetics to journalism: how did you make it all work?
We were so grateful living down the road from Heatley's wonderful parents and sister, and to other amazing parents who helped us. And we worked, often until midnight! But we also made sure to enjoy people. Relationships matter: family and friends are everything…
Her eyes sparkled when we talked about the stories she loved the most, her health columns, the sports section she made sure appeared in every edition, the space she created for the voices of others.
Her legacy is as much about what she printed as how she made people feel included. “Like when our kids would play the game: spot who’s in the newspaper.”
Q. Did you ever find it hard to stay neutral as a newspaper owner?
She laughed. Well, she said, there were definitely moments I shared my ideas and put forward visions and solutions! Like the trimming of the cotton trees and the free camping, RV stuff…
Michelle and Heatley will be deeply missed. They leave behind two decades of stories and adventure, and a community that helped raise four remarkable young locals.
“Rainbow Beach was everything I hoped for our family, what a place to grow up,” she told me and her smile carried the weight of years lived well.
Luckily we will still get to see them through their vlogging and travelling as Camps Australia Wide: campsaustraliawide.com or keep up with their adventures on Facebook & Instagram @campsaustraliawide
Thank you, Michelle. For your presence. For your words. And for the inspiring actions you’ve poured into this town.
