Understanding the Social Value of Geelong’s Design and Manufacturing Heritage for Extended Reality
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Community Surveys
2.2. Stakeholder Interviews
3. Results
3.1. Community Online Surveys
3.1.1. Design and Manufacturing of Geelong and Its Achievements
3.1.2. Quantitative Study on the Past and the Future of Geelong’s (Post-)Industrial Identity
3.1.3. Qualitative Results on the Importance of Heritage
“I worked for 22 years in a local Textile company until its demise in the 2008/9 financial crash. Valley Mill commenced in the mid-20’s as a vertical woollen mill producing fine worsted fabrics, especially those for Fletcher Jones and other well-known labels. Anticipating changing times, extensive research and development saw diversification into world class barrier fabrics using Kevlar, Nomex etc for armed services, firefighters; auto fabric for numerous car companies, industrial fabrics e.g. vertical blinds, microfibre, smart fabrics etc.”
“I have worked in three manufacturing companies and my father a fourth. All four no longer exist (a sad indictment I know). But I know stuff from working in each of those industries that helps me in my job today.”
“Worked as a textile designer/in textile business all my life. Geelong was a hub for Australia’s biggest export in those days which is something to be proud of and relatively unknown.”
“Geelong has had a rich and unique history, which design and manufacturing is big part of. At the moment we don’t celebrate our unique identity enough. The manufacturing industry boom in Geelong was about innovative people thinking big, about what could happen in Geelong. We need to tell the story about thinking big and creating new progressive and globally competitive things and not trying to restrict what those things are based on what they have been before. Continuing to create new things and industries.”
“Design and Manufacturing signifies re-invention and the desire to move forward for human endeavour. For me it engenders a solution focused mindset that I find exciting. The new practices or evolution of past practice creates a vibe that we can solve the issues that arise and will evolve to a society that is inclusive of all people, respectful and caring of our environment and other species.”
“It’s the fabric of our community and it where so many of our people were employed and derived a living from, particularly migrants from the 50′s through to the 80′s i.e., Yugoslavs, Italians, Slovenians, Croatians, Macedonians, Serbians, Bosnians, Russians, Ukrainians, Spanish, etc. It tells an important and rich story from our past.”
“I think it’s important to highlight achievements of Geelong in the past, especially with constant new growth in population to the city and surrounding areas. You get an insight of what Geelong was in the past and the history behind it. Geelong is also quite a creative hub, and supportive of local and small businesses. I think there is an opportunity to support the future of design and manufacturing today with recognition of the past.”
“It highlights achievement, ideas creation, local sourcing and supporting of talent, pride in city and competitiveness and collaboration.”
“Geelong’s recent history is of building an economically successful & pleasant new city after the end of our major manufacturing industries. We can provide guidance & inspiration to other regional areas in Australia as some of their industries decline or go through decarbonisation”.
3.1.4. Digital Interpretation of Geelong’s Design and Manufacturing Heritage
3.2. Stakeholder In-Person Interviews
3.2.1. Potential
“the shift from a materials-based economy […] to very specialised manufacturing or quick timeline manufacturing or highly technical manufacturing” demands a different “educational system that produces highly-qualified personnel, the shift in terms of our competitiveness in an international or global market is leaning into that high-level technical expertise as opposed to a bulk manufacturing base”.
3.2.2. Perceptions
3.2.3. Possibilities
“The whole city is our museum. […] I don’t necessarily believe that museums and galleries are the only places that you can go for that. I fundamentally believe if you want to share heritage, object, or a museum object, and it’s around health and maybe maternal health, the hospital is the best place for it to be. Develop an opportunity for the thing to be on display and interpreted and accessible at a hospital.”
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Survey Questions | |
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Q1 | What are the first five things you think about or associate with Geelong’s design and manufacturing? |
Q2 | Have you heard about the following Geelong’s inventive/innovative design products, services, and technologies? This is a short list of just a few known achievements by a Geelong born and/or trained person and/or they were invented/innovated and/or first applied in Geelong. |
Q3 | Our list of Geelong’s inventive/innovative design products, services and technologies is NOT COMPLETE. Let us know of any other achievements from this region you are aware of. You are more than welcome to add more details and who to contact for additional information. We are especially interested to learn about achievements by underrepresented groups (e.g., Indigenous and female inventors and designers) on this list. |
Q4 | How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements? |
Q5 | How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements? |
Q6 | Describe why the design and manufacturing heritage of Geelong is important, or not, to you |
Q7 | From this list, how much would the following experiences help you connect with our local design and manufacturing heritage? Slide the bar from 0 to 100. |
Q8 | How much experience do you have with the following extended reality technologies? |
Q9 | How interested are you in exploring extended reality to learn about Geelong’s inventions and design and manufacturing heritage? |
Q10 | Tell us your fun ideas to experience an iconic Ford ute (original from 1934 or newer editions) using extended reality. It could be an immersive, touch-controlled and even a game-like experience… |
Q11 | Describe how the following institutions could contribute to an immersive and interactive exhibition about Geelong’s design and manufacturing: Gallery Library Archive Museum |
Q12 | Anything else you would like to add? |
Q13 | What is your connection, if any, with design and manufacturing in Geelong? |
Q14 | How long have you known about Geelong’s inventions and design and manufacturing heritage? |
Q15 | What is your age? |
Q16 | What is your gender? |
Q17 | What is your higher educational level completed? |
Interview Questions | |
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Q1 | How would you describe the past and present design, manufacturing, and engineering industry in Geelong? |
Q2 | How would you describe your past and present involvement with the design, manufacturing, and engineering industry in Geelong (the answers should not be identifiable or de-identifiable)? |
Q3 | Have there been any changes over time in Geelong? |
Q4 | How would you describe the community’s perception of manufacturing and engineering in Geelong? |
Q5 | How do external visitors (e.g., regional, interstate, overseas) see Geelong today? |
Q6 | The Ford ute, the design of the first decimal currency coins, the rotary clothes hoist, and more recently, carbon wheels and RealSilk artificial fabric have all been developed in Geelong. Can you think of any opportunities to make objects like these more visible, for the benefit of the local community? |
Q7 | Should this aspect of Geelong’s story be displayed in the local region? Where do you think is a suitable location? |
Q8 | Do you see any benefits in telling the story of Geelong’s design and manufacturing heritage to the local community and visitors using extended reality experiences such as 3D printing, virtual reality, and augmented reality? |
Q9 | Do you believe there is a connection between learning about local design and manufacturing heritage and an increase in participation in engineering studies and professional pathways? |
Q10 | Do you believe learning about local design and manufacturing heritage could encourage girls, women and other underrepresented groups to participate in engineering studies and professions? |
Q11 | Would you like to share any other ideas or add anything else? |
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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Antlej, K.; Cooke, S.; Kelly, M.; Kennedy, R.; Pikó, L.; Horan, B. Understanding the Social Value of Geelong’s Design and Manufacturing Heritage for Extended Reality. Heritage 2023, 6, 3043-3062. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6030162
Antlej K, Cooke S, Kelly M, Kennedy R, Pikó L, Horan B. Understanding the Social Value of Geelong’s Design and Manufacturing Heritage for Extended Reality. Heritage. 2023; 6(3):3043-3062. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6030162
Chicago/Turabian StyleAntlej, Kaja, Steven Cooke, Meghan Kelly, Russell Kennedy, Lauren Pikó, and Ben Horan. 2023. "Understanding the Social Value of Geelong’s Design and Manufacturing Heritage for Extended Reality" Heritage 6, no. 3: 3043-3062. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6030162
APA StyleAntlej, K., Cooke, S., Kelly, M., Kennedy, R., Pikó, L., & Horan, B. (2023). Understanding the Social Value of Geelong’s Design and Manufacturing Heritage for Extended Reality. Heritage, 6(3), 3043-3062. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6030162