Wednesday, 5 July 2017
The State Library of NSW has launched an innovative online tool TODAY that uses Google Street View to visually match Indigenous place names and meanings for over 1000 locations across the state.
Muru View combines the latest in interactive technology with 100-year-old Indigenous word lists and records from the Library’s vast collection in a way that has never done before.
According to the acting NSW State Librarian & Chief Executive Lucy Milne: “Muru View is a wonderful collaboration between the State Library’s innovative DX Lab and our Indigenous
Services team, and we’re so pleased to be launching this exciting initiative as part of the Library’s NAIDOC Week celebrations.
Creative studio Sandpit was engaged to help develop the unique interactive experience, drawing on the placenames found in transcribed survey forms and correspondence received by the Royal Anthropological Society of Australasia between 1899 and 1903 from the Library’s collection.
The online interface allows users to virtually travel through the suburbs, cities and towns mentioned in the historic records and see the corresponding Indigenous names and meaning in their ‘real-life’ locations.
“Muru View presents historic interpretations of Aboriginal languages giving us insight into the intricate relationships between Indigenous peoples and their connection to their land and community in a new and innovative way,” said Kirsten Thorpe, Indigenous Services Manager at the State Library.