Digital time capsule captures unseen Melbourne

Digital time capsule captures unseen Melbourne

By Giulia Raneri

During Melbourne’s lockdowns, the City of Melbourne has captured a “digital time capsule”, a series of photos of some of the city’s most iconic and never-before-seen locations. 

The project captured both images and footage of life in Melbourne during the mandatory lockdowns. Photographers also caught images of spaces that may normally be off limits. 

The time capsule includes more than 20 locations, including iconic landmarks like the Grand Post Office, Blender Lane Studios, Melbourne Museum, St Pauls Cathedral, the Hotel Windsor and Flinders Street Station lights. 

Many of the hidden locations caught on camera, included the hidden balcony and clock tower at Melbourne Town Hall, the UooUoo public art trail in North Melbourne and CitiPower Substation J in the CBD. 

The image from Town Hall constructed a true depiction of the scale and grandeur that are impossible to see from the ground. The image of the uninterrupted skyline provided a breathtaking view of the city, while also drawing attention to the inner workings of the clock tower’s skeleton and huge frame.  

City of Melbourne CEO Justin Hanney said despite the quieter scenes around Melbourne, this project aimed at showing the public all that Melbourne could offer. 

“This is about showing Melbournians that the things they love are still here and there’s always more to discover in our city,” he said.

“From new street art in our laneways, to iconic buildings like the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the State Library Victoria, Melbourne is Australia’s cultural capital and we’ll come back even stronger.” 

Across the globe other cities are also taking the opportunity to document the lives and experiences of their citizens under lockdown. Schools are encouraging children to create time capsules of their experiences learning from home. 

To view all the highlights of the project, just visit What’s On Melbourne on Facebook. The entire collection will be added to the City of Melbourne’s website in the coming months.

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