The work that draws me in.

Over the past few weeks, I have been finding my feet with this blog, thinking about what I want to share and what I hope it might become. As I move into Week 4, it seems a good time to introduce some of the projects that currently occupy my days, and to reflect on what draws me to them.

At first glance, they might appear to have little in common. There is historical research, podcasting, exhibition development, writing and my ongoing work exploring women's history and identity. Yet, when I look more closely, I can see a thread connecting them all: a curiosity about women's lives, the circumstances in which they lived, and the stories that have been remembered — or forgotten.

One of my current projects is May Bradford: Queensland Aviatrix, a podcast exploring the life of a woman born in 1897 who grew up in Rubyvale, on the gemfields of central western Queensland. May's life took her through a remarkable variety of experiences, from family entertainment and equestrian pursuits to aviation. Researching her has meant following fragments of evidence, piecing together events and trying to understand the woman behind the historical records. I am looking forward to sharing her story with listeners when the podcast becomes available.

I am also working with local artist Lyn Laver-Ahmat on Parallel Lives: Women, Power, and Place, an exhibition exploring the lives of two Queensland women, Rose Harris and May Bradford. Although their experiences were different, both women challenged aspects of the expectations placed on women in their time. Bringing their stories into an exhibition has made me think about how we represent women's lives, and how photographs, objects, landscapes and carefully chosen words can invite people to see history differently.

Alongside these projects is my longstanding interest in female ancestry. Through my Who do you think she is? program, women have explored the lives of their female ancestors, looking beyond names and dates to discover the social, cultural and political circumstances that shaped their experiences. For me, this work is about more than genealogy. It is about recognising women as individuals with their own histories, choices, challenges and possibilities.

These interests also inform my thinking about identity, particularly how our experiences shape the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. I continue to explore how learning about the women who came before us might offer another way of understanding ourselves and our place in the world.

I don't always know where a research project will lead, or what I will discover along the way. Sometimes the questions become more interesting than the answers. Sometimes a small piece of evidence opens up an entirely new direction.

Perhaps that is what keeps drawing me back: the possibility of discovering something that changes how I see a person, a period of history or even the world around me.

Over the coming weeks, I hope to share more of these projects, the discoveries they bring, and some of the questions they raise.

Because, for me, the stories of women are never simply stories about the past. They can also help us think about who we are, how we came to be here, and what might become possible when we look at our lives through a different lens.