Thousands of rare and wonderful items in museums, cultural centres and private collections from all over Western Australia have been brought together online for the first time in a new portal as part of the WAnderland project led by the WA Museum.
Packed with hidden treasures and tales – from the cultured to the kitsch and everything in between – the Wanderland website opens the doorway to WA’s fascinating regional collections, inspiring visitors to hit the road and experience them for themselves.
According to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, David Templeman, people can discover the collections on their own device and add things that intrigue them to an online itinerary planner, building a bespoke bucket list for a real-life adventure.
“It’s such a joy to discover charming local characters, quirky buildings and incredible historic collections, and WAnderland is going to encourage more people to get out there and experience it for themselves,” Mr Templeman said.
“There’s a world of colour and curiosity waiting to be discovered,” he said, “every location is a treasure box filled with surprises.”
“This is a showcase of extraordinary items you’ve never seen, hidden in towns you may never have visited, collected by characters you’ll never forget.”
Mr Templeman said that whether a person was heading to the Coral Coast, Golden Outback, North-West or South-West, they will find inspiration for stops along the way to see the collections for themselves.
He said the WAnderland project is the culmination of two years’ work and more than 10 weeks on the road with project director Roz Lipscombe travelling with a photographer and regional writers to identify and document rarely seen items from private and public collections.
“WAnderland not only showcases locations and the surprising items you can see, but it shines a light on the people behind the collections,” the Minister said.
“You’ll find interviews with some of the warmest and most knowledgeable people from across the State as they share their stories.”
Mr Templeman said the website has written articles from collection owners and a series of five mini-documentaries, from Perth film producer Paul Barron.
The WAnderland website experience can be accessed at this PS News link.
