A Photographic Story of Melbourne Through the Ages looks at two major events which took place in the 1800s: The birth of photography and the birth of Melbourne; the most liveable city in the world. One location in Melbourne is most remarkable from the perspective of the history of the city and of image-making technology. This is illustrated by four panoramic views of the city over 176 years, as captured from the spire of Scots’ Church on the NW corner of Collins and Russell Streets.

Barney will take you on a Virtual Tour of Melbourne, starting at the birth of Melbourne with a highly detailed 360° camera lucida view of the town from the top of the new Scot’s Church in 1841. Visit this site again in 1875 to see a 360° photographic view of Melbourne City from the spire through collodion glass plates. In 1963, the spire suffered severe lightning damage and was lowered 40 feet. In 1989, it was rebuilt and restored in height, at which time, 11 overlapping views of the city were captured from the spire, forming a 360° panoramic view. In 2017, a modern 360° view was captured from the spire by Hidden Melbourne using a CMOS sensor.

With Virtual Tour technology, you are able to stand on the spire as if you were virtually there. Barney will demonstrate Time Travel by allowing you to switch between the stages of Melbourne’s development and to see annotated landmarks. By linking old and new views into a timeline, this journey will tell the story of Melbourne’s growth and transformation as well as the development of image-making technology.

10:00am Morning Coffee
10:45am Talk begins

Bookings essential:
Friends of MGA $10 | $5 talk only
Non-members $12| $6 talk only