New heritage portal set to open up our past

It’s been more than nine months in the making, but Noosa is in for a treat with the Wednesday launch of Heritage Noosa – a brand new online portal showcasing Noosa’s history. 

Horse riding, Hofmann’s Weyba Ranch, Lake Weyba.

Heritage Noosa hosts the Noosa Council Heritage Library’s historical image collection, as well as other digital heritage items such as maps, digital stories, oral histories and videos.

“While we can’t travel too far from home these days, with this captivating new portal we can take a trip back in time and explore Noosa’s past,” Mayor Clare Stewart said.

“Heritage Noosa offers the community a way to discover, learn and remember,” added Councillor Karen Finzel, Chair of Council’s Noosa Heritage Reference Group.

“The website will engage our community by offering residents the opportunity to add to the content, such as old photos and memorabilia from their own collections.”

All are welcome to the official launch of the website, from 5.30pm Wednesday at Tewantin Noosa Lions Park, Gympie Terrace.

“We’re very excited to share the portal and its amazing capabilities,” Council’s Heritage Coordinator Jane Harding said.

“The beauty of this platform is that if someone recognises a family member or even themselves in an image or video, or they know more about a person, place or event, they can add this information directly to the site,” Ms Harding said.

“As the majority of the collection has been donated by community members, there’s often limited or no information about the subject of a photo.

“We hope that community groups will also get involved to share their own historic memorabilia and the stories of their organisations and activities.”

With a mouse click or swipe, the platform is accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime, on any device. The ever-expanding collection of local and family history resources is now available for all who are looking for answers to their questions now and for years to come.

Additional content will be added regularly and users are encouraged to visit the site often to discover what’s new.

The site is built on Recollect, a cloud-based collection management and community engagement platform developed specifically for the cultural heritage and archive sector.

The project has been funded by the Noosa Council Heritage Levy.

For access to the Heritage Noosa Portal, visit heritage.noosa.qld.gov.au