A VIRTUAL tour website launched at the Mayday Hills Art Society premises for the former Mayday Hills Mental Asylum and Beechworth Cemetery last Thursday brings a rich history of the past into the present.
A small research team of three headed by Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Associate Professor Jennifer Munday over five years interviewed former staff, patients, families, and Beechworth residents for stories.
Professor Munday said together with CSU Ajdunct Professor Eileen Clark and Dr Alison Watts from Southern Cross University in Lismore, the three had worked on the project since 2016.
The collaborative project with funding from Telematics Trust helped Charles Sturt University in using technology and creating web content from participants in the research.
"With funding I was able to bring on board my colleagues from CSU Wagga campus Patrick McKenzie, Tim Crutchet, Damien Maloney and Dr James Farley for the virtual website that started in 2019," she said.
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The websites with drone footage of the asylum and Beechworth Cemetery buildings and grounds with virtual tours, visual and audio content developed by the team takes viewers around both sites.
Viewers can tap into the website with artifacts and stories from staff, patients, families, and Beechworth residents.
Professor Munday said the historically significant project had given the asylum a sense of place in Victoria's history and its meaning for the community.
"People are really interested to find out about people who lived and worked at the asylum and there are so many connections," she said.
"It's not a finished project as we intend to keep visiting more artefacts and narratives."
Professor Munday said a QR code on the plaque of a soldier's graves in the Beechworth Cemetery will tell their story as well.
"As Beechworth is an historic town, people wishing to visit can get a taste of history before they arrive," she said.
Professor Munday said there will be links between the virtual and physical sites and the future.
Dr Alison Watts has a direct link to the asylum as her grandmother Alba Watts (1912–1973) was a patient in the 1950s and 1960s.
"Stories about patients had been hard to find but there are very sad ones," she said.
"Mayday Hills Asylum that closed in 1995 has a strong sense of place as it is still here and it is really important to have an understanding of the mental health practices," she said.
Indi MP Helen Haines, who launched the website, said important stories had been told about staff and patients as well as the visual exploration of Mayday Hills and the Beechworth Cemetery.
As an example, Dr Haines cited WW1 soldiers who had been patients at the asylum and buried in the cemetery with their war trauma not understood.
"We can connect stories of the past to inform us about the future," she said.
"This is a place of historical significance not only the buildings and the gardens but the model of care used in those days.
"It demonstrates that we've come a long way from the shocking stigma that surrounded the asylum."
Researcher Professor Eillen Clark said having a website to ensure graves are marked for people who served their country brought important work out into the public too.
"People are becoming more aware of history and places like the asylum are important in preserving it," she said.
Indigo Shire mayor Bernard Gaffney said the project will be a boon for tourism in Beechworth and the shire.
