Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
History buffs revel in VR revolution
Breakthroughs in virtual reality could soon shape the museums of the future.
Imagine standing on a Marlborough Sounds beach watching a mighty waka arrive in the 13th century, or strolling down a street as European settlers build their first general store.
Brian Goodwin manages Te Papa’s new virtual reality exhibit ’I Want To Experience’ and is visiting Marlborough Museum on November 1 as part of heritage month.
Goodwin and his team use the skills they have mastered creating content for blockbuster Hollywood films at Weta Digital to pioneer a new genre of information interchange that is only now, with the release of VR technology, becoming possible.
Marlborough Heritage Trust executive director Steve Austin says Goodwin’s visit to Marlborough heralds a new direction for history buffs.
‘‘The presentation offers the chance to try out the virtual reality headsets,’’ Austin says.
‘‘And Goodwin and the team will be creating a historical tour especially relevant to Marlborough.’’
The 90-minute presentation will be held at the Marlborough Museum with limited spaces available for the VR tour.
‘‘If we want heritage to be a part of the regional identity, and community pride, then we have to
CONFIDENCE SLUMPS
Big ticket items are still on the shopping list for Marlborough people, despite what the economists are saying. Economic confidence has slumped in most of the country’s rural regions despite improved farming conditions, according to a recent Westpac survey. Earlier in the year, about 50 per cent of households in Marlborough expected the region’s economy to strengthen. This fell to 30 per cent for the September quarter. Westpac economist Dominick Stephens said the result was surprising. ‘‘The dairy, wine, fruit-growing and forestry industries are important employers, and the outlook for each is generally posit- ive,’’ Stephens said. ‘‘The only real black spots are tourism and house price increases starting to slow.’’
VOLCANO RISK
Vineyard workers from Vanuatu wrapped up for the season in Marlborough say they are excited to head home, despite the risk of a large volcanic eruption. Their families living on the island of Ambae, near the erupting volcano, were safe, they said. They were among about 5000 people evacuated from north and south Ambae after a state of emergency was declared on Monday. The volcano, known as Monaro, has been rumbling for weeks. It started start using the relevant technology for the next generation. This is the future of museum heritage,’’ Austin says.
It is expected the introduction of this technology will attract a belching ash on Saturday, prompting Vanuatu’s government to upgrade it to a ‘‘moderate eruption event’’. Vineyard workers in Marlborough said they would fly home on Wednesday morning after five months of pruning vines. Less concerned by Monaro’s activity, they said they were ready for a warmer climate after a ‘‘busy’’ winter season. Brian Tari said his family was evacuated from their home last week. They lived ‘‘one or two hours’’ from Lake Monaro, in the centre of which lay the volcano. Hannington Banga said he heard his family were safe after leaving their home in Lolovenue Village, in north Ambae. Marlborough man Geoff van Asch wider audience to the region’s history and culture.
‘‘Another way to think about it is asking how we can create a heritage story about Marlborough that people can access from any- said his family was travelling to Vanuatu on Wednesday to visit some of the Ni-Vanuatu men who worked on local vineyards over winter. Several went home on Saturday, and one had contacted him to warn him away from Ambae, he said. ‘‘I pulled the plan yesterday in regards to going out on the island, but from the point of view of the wife and two boys we’re still going.’’ They would travel instead to Vanuatu’s largest island Espirtu Santo, about 50 kilometres from Ambae.
A SECOND CHANCE
Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast businesses may soon receive a knock on the door from the where.
‘‘We have extraordinary sites in Marlborough that are historically significant.
‘‘We need to share that story with the world.’’ Salvation Army. The charity has received a three-year contract from the Department of Corrections to get ex-convicts into jobs and give them a ‘‘second chance’’ at rehabilitation. The partnership, announced this week, extends a long-running North Island and Canterbury scheme to 18 Salvation Army centres across New Zealand. Three people had already been referred to the service in Nelson, where operations were based. It was expected about 70 ex-offenders a year would benefit from the scheme, though the potential uptake was ‘‘as long as a piece of string,’’ Corrections’ employment development advisor Garron Starr said.