Peering into the glass of an antique wooden bellows camera, budding photographer Isabelle Elliott is fizzing with curiosity.
“It’s very interesting because we’ve improved our technology,” the 10-year-old told the ABC.
“From the old days, we didn’t have anything, then we improved it … It’s technically things evolving from other things.”
One of Bert Shaw’s photos depicting early settlers enjoying a picnic on WA’s south coast. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
One of those things, presented by the Denmark Historical Society as part of its exhibit for the town’s Youth Fest, is a 60-year-old typewriter — a world away from the tablets now ubiquitous in WA’s schools.
There’s no undo button, no autocorrect, but Isabelle is enamoured.
“When I went to England, I saw an antique shop with a typewriter in it and I was like, ‘Oh my god, that is so cool,'” she said.
Isabelle was thrilled at the chance to use an antique typewriter, which is on her Christmas wish list. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
“I’ve always wanted to actually type something up on it.”
So much so that she has asked her mother, Emily Springate, for one.
“They are quite fascinated by it when they actually get to see it in real life,” Ms Springate said.
“For children to be connected with their past, and to understand that the technology that now exists in their hand all the time is not what we’ve always had … is really important.”
A classic chalkboard won’t run out of power and there’s no screen to crack if it’s dropped. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
Generation alpha are not alone in their nostalgia for the past, with gen Z also yearning for a simpler time.
“There’s something so special about just doing it manually,” Denmark resident Keira Oxby said.
“Even for me growing up, I still feel like I was just lucky — we had a home phone, and it was just something that when someone called, it was exciting.
“But now that’s just not a thing anymore, which is quite sad.”
Keira Oxby can still recall a time when the home phone was a source of anticipation and excitement. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
Historical society brings collection to life
For local historian Bev McGuinness, Thursday’s event was an opportunity to show Denmark’s youth just how much life had changed in the small Great Southern town.
“‘It won’t fit in my pocket’, one of them said, which is gorgeous,” she said, referring to a rotary-dial telephone.
A child plugs in her mother’s phone number, one spin of the dial at a time. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
The large wooden bellows plate camera — of the kind used by pioneer settler Bert Shaw to capture life in Bow Bridge in the early 1900s — was similarly a source of fascination for the children.
“The fact that they can just pick up their phone today and take a photograph, whereas 100 years ago, they had a box and a tripod and had to carry a box of glass plates, they found that quite amazing,” she said.
Bev McGuiness tells young Amelia Hockey how glass plate photography worked 100 years ago. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
A busy day at Denmark’s Youth Fest
Shire of Denmark president Aaron Wiggins was pleased to see so many children at the history exhibit on a day that included a dunk tank, face painting and inflatable darts.
“We’ve got a unique town with a unique history, so it’s been great,” he said.
“I think kids are inherently tactile and want to feel and play and now, at some level, they’ve lost that.
“So when they get a chance to pull apart things, look into and get the feel, understand the stories behind it — they love it.”
Aaron Wiggins climbs out of the dunk tank. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)
Although, the cattle farmer was happy to leave some things in the past.
“I’ve used one of those old saws,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want to make it a habit.”
Isabelle tries her hand at an old two-man saw, once used by timber merchant Millars to fell Denmark’s ancient hardwood trees. The saw is also known as a “misery whip”. (ABC Great Southern: Mark Bennett)