Abstract
Many historic sites and buildings become museums of their social history and past stories. In other cases, artefacts from social history buildings or events are absorbed into existing museum collections, often archived and kept away from potential audiences until a specific topic or theme gives them temporary viewing. In this presentation, I show how virtual tours of two historic sites have been the foundation to produce an online repository for stories, artefacts, and research about Mayday Hills, a former mental hospital, in regional Victoria, Australia. A team of researchers and technicians have created a website using innovative technologies to make available a 3-dimensional tour of the historic buildings (now mostly repurposed) with embedded narratives and museum artefacts sourced through interview data and research participant private collections. The site also contains a blog where aspects of the social history research are posted. The website has been accessed by a variety of visitors – potential and past visitors to the historic town of Beechworth; people with an interest in former mental hospital and asylum history; and relatives of former patients and staff. The research project is ongoing, and the development of the website continues with advances in technology – the outcome is a virtual space that fills all elements of the new Museum Definition of ICOM.
Presenters
Jennifer MundayAssociate Professor, Faculty of Arts & Education, Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia Alison Watts
Adjunct Lecturer, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, New South Wales, Australia Eileen Clark
Adjunct Research Fellow, Faculty of Arts and Education, Charles Sturt University, Australia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Social History, Virtual Museums
