Now ... imagine being able to see in 3D detail what an area looked like more than one hundred years ago? Thanks to a major new 3D building project, you're able to do just that at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, Victoria.
The 60-hectare open-air museum recreates what life was like in Ballarat's gold fields in the 1850s. Set on a former goldmining site, Sovereign Hill has more than 120 buildings - all of which have now been digitally mapped on Google Earth. To give you an idea of scale, nearly 2,000 images were taken to detail the 120 replica buildings on the site, making it one of Australia's biggest 3D digital mapping projects.
The huge project was undertaken almost single-handedly by Tom Delany of 3dskyline.
Google Earth is a wonderful way to take a virtual tour of some of the world's best known tourist attractions and historical icons. Turn on the 3D building layer to get a unique view of our best-loved Aussie destinations including:
And international destinations:
