Cooks' Cottage welcomes a multitude of local and international visitors every year since its opening in 1934. The City of Melbourne wanted to interpret its history and significance, including the reasons for the location of Captain Cook’s parents home in the Fitzroy Gardens, in a contemporary and engaging way. It was also important the Cottage interpretation provided a consistent experience to visitors throughout their visit.
Convergence Associates designed the interpretation plan to maximise diverse storytelling opportunities within the small space of the cottage. The Art of Multimedia with Extent Heritage historians collaborated with City of Melbourne to bring the interpretive experience to life. Three short films convey the cottage’s story in England and Melbourne, the Cook family history and life in 18th century Yorkshire, through illuminating characterised narrative and beautiful historical images brought to life with motion graphics.
The films play on a loop and are delivered in English with Mandarin and Bahasa subtitles, to cater to the majority of visitors, with or without staff presence. An interactive touch screen entices the curious visitors with animation, images and layers of content, to explore Captain Cook’s three voyages around the world, according to their individual level of interest. Modern display technology allows the City of Melbourne to alter the program sequence to their specific needs and add new content to explore the cottage’s history in more depth and from multiple perspectives.
