Abstract
Residents in regional and rural communities remain distant from many of the affordances and opportunities associated with urban centres of population. Conversely, regional and rural residents have been characterised as being particularly resilient owing to having to adapt to changing circumstances. Against this backdrop, it is crucial for those residents to build their capacities in order to make their full contributions to local, regional, national and global development. This proposition is explored in this chapter by reference to the ambivalent status of Australian circuses, an innovative strategy for community-wide knowledge development in a regional town in Queensland, Australia, and the adjustment experiences of migrants and refugees in regional and rural communities in Queensland.