Things to Do Thursday: Take a Virtual History Walk

Feeling cooped up? Try taking a virtual walk. Google Street View allows you to explore places without actually going anywhere. The perfect solution during lockdown!

To use Google Street View, go to Google Maps, https://www.google.com.au/maps, and search for a place or address. A map of the place will appear, and down in the far right-hand corner there will be small yellow person icon. Click and drag this icon, and drop it onto the map at the place you'd like to begin your explorations. A photographic representation of the place will appear, and you can click on arrows to navigate around the area.

Street View is great for exploring where your ancestors lived. For example, many of my ancestors lived in a town named Mandal in Norway. I've never been actually been there, yet I've enjoyed taking a peek at the pretty lanes, streets and waterways from the comfort of home.


Or explore closer to home. Flemington, for example, is an excellent candidate for random roaming. It is so full of interest you can just follow your (virtual) nose in Flemington and no doubt you'll stumble across interesting places.


Or you could refer to the fantastic history site created by the Flemington Association dedicated to Flemington's historic places: http://www.flemingtonheritage.org.au/places/

Near or far, planned or free roaming, hopefully you can find an enjoyable way to use Street View to get into history, and get almost out and about.

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