Immersive visitor experience

Sovereign Hill

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Production company –ThinkOTS

2016

Designer

The greatest migration of people in history, to that time, started in the 1850s after the discovery of gold on the goldfields of Ballarat in Victoria.

Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children left their homes and set sail in search of untold wealth and a new life in Australia.

Following the ‘Great Circle Routes’ from Britain and Europe, the west coast of America and from China, the journeys lasted many months at sea, with passengers having to endure the most extreme conditions, disease and potential disaster in pursuit of their dreams.

Using historical records, journals and news coverage of the time, ‘Bright Visions’ brings to life, through a variety of media and interactive technology, the observations and day to day experiences of these early migrants.

A detail of the painting ‘The Last of England’ by Ford Madox Brown, introduces visitors to the ‘disorientation’ felt by the migrants as they left their country, many to never see their homes again.

Visitors continue in to the space and are immersed in the ocean ‘Journey’. Faceted abstract projection surfaces represent the wide vistas and rolling seascapes, while a stylised ship interior allows visitors to get a feel for life on board.

A projection-mapped heap of baggage shows how the ‘Arrival’ in Port Phillip Bay was no less disorienting for the people.

Then finally through the unfolding story of ‘The Road’ to the goldfields; the alien landscape, flora and fauna; encountering the indigenous people and the unique experience of the Chinese migrants.

• Installations
• Visitor Experiences