Heritage sites in the 21^st century: virtual tours and digital artefacts, an online example

ABSTRACT

Former asylums are often significant heritage sites for their architecture and what they can tell us about mental health care practices. One example is the historic Mayday Hills asylum in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. Built in Italianate style and set in extensive grounds, it is under National Trust protection for its heritage and historical significance. In this article, we outline the creation of a pilot online virtual tour of Mayday Hills and the nearby Beechworth Cemetery. We used curation as a methodology, informed by the concept of crystallisation. Innovative digital imagery was crafted through drone footage and virtual technology. The website includes narratives and reminiscences from former staff and others associated with the institution, along with a blog written by the research team. Maydayhills.org.au demonstrates the feasibility of using virtual technology to depict how mental illness was once treated in Australia. The website is available to anyone unable to travel to Beechworth and to enrich the experience of those visiting in person. This online digital space is now essential for the preservation of history, memories and material culture given that many original buildings are being repurposed. It complements the built and natural environment of Mayday Hills asylum and Beechworth Cemetery.

KEYWORDS:

• Virtual tours
• heritage research
• online resources
• memory studies
• asylum history

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Munday

Jennifer Munday is on the academic faculty at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Australia teaching in the disciplines of Creative Arts, and Technology. Jennifer co-leads the Creative Practice Circle research group at CSU and the Curriculum and Pedagogy research group. She is currently assisting her department to establish an Education Research Centre.

Alison Watts

Alison Watts Southern Cross University, was awarded her PhD titled ‘Maternal insanity in Victoria, Australia: 1920-1973.’ She has a strong familial connection to Mayday Hills, as her grandmother lived as a patient there in the 1950 and 1960s. Alison curated artefacts from private family collections in the Collections from the Asylum: Past Lives, Present Tense exhibition on Mayday Hills at the Albury Library Museum in 2020. In this project, she is responsible for managing and writing the maydayhills.org.au Blog content.

Eileen Clark

Eileen Clark is an adjunct Research Fellow at Charles Sturt University having completed her PhD by Prior Publication. Eileen also holds Masters degrees in sociology and genealogy. Her genealogy dissertation was an archival study of patients admitted to Beechworth Asylum between 1900 and 1912. In this project, she has been responsible for researching the biographies of veterans admitted to the asylum and their families and for liaison with Beechworth Cemetery Trust.

Tim Crutchett

Timothy Crutchett is a Lecturer in Creative Arts at Charles Sturt University (CSU) teaching Creative Arts, Photography and Visual Communication. His research interests are in creative technology applications toward archiving, such as gigapixel imaging, virtual reality and photogrammetry. His background in digital imaging and audio capture were integral to create an explorable narrative for the Mayday Hills virtual tour project.