In 2009, Queensland Writers Centre partnered with Q150, Booklinks and the Children's Book Council of Australia to present a section of the Q150 Steam Train that travelled across regional Queeensland. This project paid homage to the original writers' train in 1990, which carried the likes of Thea Astley, Victor Kelleher, Thomas Keneally, Estelle Pinney, Tim Winton, Bruce Dawe, Janette Turner Hospital and then emerging writer of the time, Nick Earls.
Affectionately known as 'Writers Train', the Q150 Train hosted a number of Queensland writers on journeys - the first being from Townsville to Mount Isa on board The Inlander Route and the second being from Brisbane to Charleville on board The Westerner Route.
On each trip, the writers stopped in each community along the route to conduct free community events at local libraries, as a way to celebrate the diversity of Queensland stories and culture and link our literary history with the contemporary landscape of Queensland.
Writers
Matthew Condon (The Trout Opera, The Courier Mail's QWeekend magazine), Belinda Jeffrey (Brown Skin Blue) and Gregory Rogers (The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard) were the writers on board The Inlander journey, stopping at Townsville, Charters Towers, Hughenden, Cloncurry and Mount Isa.
Kate Eltham (QWC CEO), Kim Wilkins (The Infernal), Nick Earls (The True Story of Butterfish) and Hinemoana Baker (mātuhi | needle) were the writers on board The Westerner journey, stopping at Brisbane, Toowoomba, Chinchilla, Roma and Charleville.
History
Part of the Q150 Steam Train journey pays homage to a Writers Train which travelled throughout Queensland in 1990 with authors such as Thea Astley, Ross Clark, Silvana Gardner, Rodney Hall, Victor Kelleher, Thomas Keneally, Kominos, Hugh Lunn, Adele Moy, Estelle Pinney, Peter Pinney, Bill Rosser, Rosie Scott, Tim Winton, Bruce Dawe, Janette Turner Hospital and the emerging writer of the time, Nick Earls.
The 2009 Q150 Steam Train connected to a significant cultural event in Queensland’s history – the 1990 Writers Train – inviting participants to engage in conversation with prominent contemporary writers. These authors’ reflections of Queensland in their writing, and their ability to engage communities to conceive and share their own reflections, is the principle way this project celebrates Q150.
Online
As part of this project, Queensland Writers Centre created Tracks an online journal hosted by ABC social media website, POOL.
The authors posted text, audio of children reading the stories they created during workshops and photographs of their journey for anyone to view, comment on and mash up.
Visit www.pool.org.au.
This initiative was produced by Queensland Writers Centre with the support of Q150 and Copyright Agency Limited, and is presented in partnership with Booklinks and Childrens Book Council of Australia (Qld).
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