In addition to the 43 capital works projects funded by the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments, the Queensland Heritage Trails Network is leading a number of other projects dedicated to showcasing and educating others about the people, places and events that have shaped Queensland.

ABC Radio Series
ABC Radio in Queensland - in conjunction with the Queensland Heritage Trails Network - is producing a series called The Heritage of Queensland - Explore Your Own Backyard. Consisting of 175 radio segments which are aired across Queensland during weekday drive time throughout 2002, the series explores Queensland's unique social and natural history.

Based upon the many diverse experiences to be had along the Network, the stories explore who we are and where we've come from. Historian, researcher and proud Queenslander, Wayne Kelly, is the author of the series.

Click here to listen to the latest stories.

Discovery Guide to Outback Queensland
This full-colour guide book has been produced with the Queensland Museum and documents the people, places and environments that have helped to mould Queensland's Outback. The book covers every major town and small settlement from just east of the Matilda Highway to the Northern Territory and South Australian borders. From Camooweal, Mount Isa and Richmond in the north, to Birdsville, Cunnamulla and Mitchell in the south, Queensland's Outback encapsulates the 'real Australia'.

Now available for rrp $32.95, please email the Queensland Heritage Trails Network for stockists.

Discover Queensland! The Exhibition
The Queensland Heritage Trails Network and Queensland Museum are developing a permanent exhibition located in the Queensland Museum South Bank campus in Brisbane. The exhibition will be a visual and educational feast that takes visitors on a journey to discover the diverse natural and cultural heritage of Queensland. The journey starts in the wide-open spaces of Outback. It takes in Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef, the Wet Tropics and the coastal plains, pastoral lands, gemfields and mining centres, beaches of South-East Queensland and much more. The exhibition, due to open in January 2003, will aim to inspire visitors to go out and explore the more remote parts of Queensland and the Heritage Trails Network.

For further information, contact Richard Cassels, Director of Museum Services, Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia, Ph (61) 7 3840 7662, Fax (61) 7 3840 7607, www.qmuseum.qld.gov.au email: Richard@qm.qld.gov.au

Resource Guides
Four resource guides have been published by the Queensland Heritage Trails Network to help communities identify and describe objects and themes which tell Queensland's unique stories.

Historic Themes in Queensland provides a summary of Queensland's main historical themes and provides guidelines on how to use these themes to highlight the significance of local places, people, objects, buildings and events.

Connecting Collections is about ensuring that historical objects in a local museum are fully identified and described, including the wider story of, for example, the family who may have donated an object.

Taking the Time was developed by Museums Australia (Queensland) to encourage local museums to engage with their Indigenous and multicultural people to help showcase their stories to the broader community.

The Reality of a Dark History - from contact and conflict to cultural recognition is an historical account of Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders in Queensland from European prehistory, through to today, when the vitality and promise of Indigenous culture is being affirmed through reconciliation initiatives.

To request a copy of one of these Resource Guides, send an email to heritagetrails@arts.qld.gov.au or telephone 1800 638 250 (freecall inside Queensland).

Inland Trading Routes
A publication exploring traditional Aboriginal trade and ceremonial routes of inland Australia and the goods that were traded will be produced by the Queensland Heritage Trails Network. It will provide readers with a greater understanding of the complex social and economic structures of Aboriginal Peoples. The book will overlay the transposition of these routes to stock routes and roads developed by European explorers and pastoralists. The size and complexity of the inland trade and ceremonial routes and their later development is a story of epic importance for the history and heritage of Australia and with this understanding, travel in inland Australia will become an even more stimulating and enjoyable experience.

The publication is being prepared jointly with the Northern Territory and South Australian Governments and is hoped to be released in 2003.