A New Way to Explore the Northern Flinders
If you’ve ever driven through the Flinders Ranges and wondered about the stories behind the landscape, a new Flinders Ranges Heritage Trail is about to make those answers a whole lot easier to find.
The newly launched Flinders Ranges Heritage Trail brings together some of the region’s most significant geological, palaeontological, Aboriginal and colonial heritage sites, encouraging visitors to slow down, look a little closer and explore the history throughout the outback.
Developed by the Outback Communities Authority, the trail is split into four routes, each taking travellers deeper into the Northern Flinders Ranges and further back through time.
Along the way are national parks, guided tours, significant Adnyamathanha sites, colonial ruins, walking trails and some of the places helping tell the story of how this rugged landscape came to be.
Thousands Of Years Beneath Your Feet
For many visitors, the Flinders is already known for its spectacular scenery. The new trail adds another layer, revealing stories that stretch from some of the world’s oldest fossils through to the people and communities who have called the region home over thousands of years.
The project is particularly close to the heart of Outback Communities Authority Presiding Member Jan Ferguson OAM, who lives in the heritage-listed town of Beltana. Jan and her family were instrumental in securing heritage protection for several buildings in the town during the 1970s and, together with her husband Chris, she has restored and reopened the historic Royal Victoria Hotel.
“Outback South Australia has a rich and multicultural heritage landscape. It is vital that we preserve and protect heritage places and enhance properties through adaptive reuse, while also enabling visitors to learn their histories. This heritage trail will play a very important role in that process and assist in engaging the community in our heritage.”
Inspiring The Next Generation
Among those welcoming the initiative is Adelaide University and South Australian Museum palaeontologist Associate Professor Diego Garcia-Bellido, whose research focuses on the Ediacaran fossils now preserved within Nilpena Ediacara National Park.
For him, one of the greatest strengths of heritage sites is their ability to spark curiosity and bring science and history to life.
“One of the greatest values of heritage is getting the youngest members of society engaged with science, and the best way to do that is in the field: we need to get our youngest generations out there to experience it firsthand. That’s how we’ll get them forever captivated by science and history.”
The Heritage Trail is available as a brochure through visitor centres across the region, including the Jamestown Visitor Centre, the Wadlata Outback Centre and the Flinders Ranges Visitor Information Centre.
A printable version is also available to download from the Outback Communities Authority website.
Whether you’re fascinated by ancient fossils, interested in Aboriginal and colonial history, or simply looking for a new reason to explore the outback, the Flinders Ranges Heritage Trail offers a chance to dig deeper into one of South Australia’s most remarkable regions.
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