The economic future of the Palmer Goldfield lies with both the gold mining and the tourist industries. An equitable solution to the competition between the two involves putting a dollar value on the historical evidence there for our Australian heritage._x000D_
On 23 October 1986 the Queensland Government gazetted the Palmer River Reserves R16 of 16 200 hectares, in recognition of the competing land uses emerging in the region. The intention is that historically significant gold mining sites and relics will be preserved in situ with provision for continued gold exploration and mining._x000D_
This paper explores and explains the administrative process of achieving a set of Management Guidelines for Rl6 within the Queensland political milieu. The result of that process is the achievement of some of the highest preservation standards in Australia, prohibiting surface disturbance of defined Category 1 sites, and no mining proposal has yet been refused approval._x000D_
The Palmer Goldfield R16 experience is a major step in achieving a co-ordinated approach to both current mining and preservation of Queensland's mining heritage.