History brought back to life by hyperreal mannequins

Volunteers at Carnarvon's One Mile Jetty Museum are welcoming three new, albeit silent, members to their team: hyperreal mannequins designed to bring history to life. Located in an agricultural town roughly 900 kilometers north of Perth, these lifelike figures have sparked a wide range of reactions from visitors, from warm affection to outright fear.

“

And it's not one or two people. We had a local lady come out here a couple of weeks ago and she actually thought he had come out of his grave because it was that real.

The realism of the mannequins has provided ample entertainment for museum volunteer Quentin Boyle. He recounts instances of visitors attempting to purchase tickets from the mannequin of local legend Winson Quan Sing, with one lady even believing he had risen from his grave. While no known family members of Mr. Quan Sing have yet seen the exhibit, Boyle anticipates that relatives might still be in the state. The lifelike nature has also unnerved some, with one ex-police officer volunteer remarking that a mannequin felt like a dead body, and many children becoming visibly distressed.

One visitor, Samuel Gilbert from Perth, admitted he needed reassurance after encountering the ultra-realistic mannequin of Mr. Quan Sing, tapping its finger to confirm it was not real. He expressed that such lifelike displays bring a new dimension of vitality to the museum experience. The exhibit specifically represents the workers and volunteers who were instrumental in maintaining the historic One Mile Jetty.

“

I tapped his finger, and I thought 'thank God'. I've never seen stuff like that in a museum before. It really brings some life into the museum.

The exhibit also serves to remember Carnarvon's multicultural past. The Quan Sing family, who moved to Carnarvon in the early 1930s, famously transformed a corner shop into a well-known general store. Although the original store is gone, replaced by housing after a fire in 1992, Winson Quan Sing's legacy is now permanently etched into the town's history through the mannequin. Carnarvon Heritage Group chair Dudley Maslen highlighted the importance of this recognition, especially for pioneering families who faced challenges, including the White Australia Policy, and made significant contributions to the diverse community that Carnarvon is today.

“

I think the family would be quite chuffed because these are people who came to Australia in the pioneering days and the days of the White Australia Policy. They met a lot of racism, and they battled on, and were great successes. I think it's time that we all recognise that we are all made up of a lot of different ethnic groups and they've all made great contributions.