Cultural Infrastructure
Film Sets That Stay
Most film sets disappear. Ours are designed to create something more.
Magic Lands Alliance is developing a model where selected film sets, cultural environments and historical locations can continue beyond production as lasting educational, tourism and community assets.
Through First Nations collaboration, historical research and production design, Project One is creating cultural infrastructure that can support storytelling, learning, historical interpretation, visitor experiences and community engagement long after filming has concluded.
From Screen Production to Lasting Legacy
Film production provides an opportunity to research, design and construct historically informed environments that would otherwise disappear once filming ends.
Where culturally appropriate and subject to consultation, approvals and partnerships, MLA aims to retain and activate selected infrastructure for future use — connecting Country, Culture, history, education, tourism and community.
First Nations collaboration informs the project from research and language through to production design, education and visitor experiences, with cultural assets retained only where appropriate and with cultural guidance.
What We Are Developing
Traditional Shelters
Traditional shelters developed for Project One are intended to help recreate historical environments while supporting future cultural education, interpretation and storytelling.
These structures are being explored in collaboration with Traditional Owners, Elders, cultural advisers and community partners, with opportunities for selected shelters to remain as educational or cultural assets beyond filming.
Purpose:
Culture • Storytelling • Education • Historical Interpretation • Community Use
Interactive Education Huts
MLA is exploring interactive cultural spaces that can take material developed for film and turn it into immersive learning experiences.
These spaces could combine traditional construction, cultural interpretation, historical information, audio storytelling, educational displays and digital experiences to help visitors and students engage more deeply with Country and history.
Purpose:
Education • Cultural Learning • Digital Interpretation • School Experiences • Tourism
Gathering Spaces
Larger gathering structures can create places for community, education, storytelling and cultural experiences.
They may support cultural programs, talks, workshops, school groups, community gatherings and visitor experiences while creating a physical connection between the stories represented on screen and the Country where those stories belong.
Purpose:
Community • Cultural Programs • Education • Events • Visitor Experiences
Historical Film Sets
Project One requires the recreation of significant historical environments from early 19th-century southern Australia, including both First Nations and colonial settings.
Where appropriate, selected environments may be retained or adapted for historical interpretation, education, tourism and future screen production rather than being dismantled after filming.
The prospectus includes proposed environments connected with early Melbourne, where temporary colonial buildings, public spaces and traditional First Nations huts could recreate an important period in the city's history.
Purpose:
Film Production • Historical Interpretation • Education • Tourism • Future Productions
Heritage Environments
MLA's infrastructure strategy extends beyond individual buildings.
The project explores entire historical and cultural environments connected to significant landscapes, stories and events — allowing visitors to better understand history in the places where it happened.
Potential environments identified through Project One include locations associated with Wadawurrung Country, early Geelong and Melbourne, Werribee, Framlingham, Mount Noorat, Lake Connewarre, Sullivan Bay and other significant landscapes.
Purpose:
Place-Based Learning • Heritage • Tourism • History • Country
Exhibitions & Interpretation
The cultural assets created during film production can also become part of future exhibitions and educational programs.
Project One includes the development of costumes, artefacts, handcrafted replicas, tools and cultural props in collaboration with Traditional Owners, cultural advisers, artists and makers. Subject to cultural protocols, selected items may later support exhibitions, education and community programs.
Future interpretation may include:
Historical Displays • Cultural Interpretation • Audio Stories • QR Experiences • Educational Exhibitions • Film Production Material
Mobile Cultural Infrastructure
Not every cultural experience needs to remain in one place.
MLA is exploring movable cultural infrastructure and educational assets that can travel between communities, schools, events and regional locations.
This creates opportunities for stories and educational experiences developed through the project to reach audiences beyond permanent locations and form part of a broader cultural and historical network.
Purpose:
Regional Access • Schools • Community Events • Exhibitions • Education • Cultural Outreach
Infrastructure Connected to Country
Rather than creating one central destination, MLA's long-term vision is to establish a connected network of cultural locations across Victoria.
These locations can link film stories with Country, history, cultural knowledge and regional communities — encouraging people to travel through the landscapes connected to the stories themselves. The prospectus describes this as a model that can support regional travel and local economies while helping visitors experience Australia's shared history through Country, Culture and education.
Potential Project One Locations
Wurdi Youang / You Yangs
Cultural knowledge, landscape and astronomy.
Barrabool Hills
Wadawurrung Country and landscapes connected to the Project One story.
Lake Connewarre
Country, ecology, cultural landscapes and historical storytelling.
Werribee
Early contact, cultural landscapes and colonial history.
Framlingham
Culture, community history and the later story of Purra.
Mount Noorat
Traditional trade and gathering history.
Anakie & The Granites
Natural landscapes, traditional shelter and cultural interpretation.
Early Geelong
Colonial settlement and Wadawurrung history.
Early Melbourne
The meeting of First Nations history and the emerging colonial settlement.
Sullivan Bay
The 1803 British settlement and the beginning of William Buckley's journey.
Example — Framlingham
Framlingham is one of the significant locations associated with Purra's later life and the continuing history of First Nations communities in south-west Victoria.
Project One proposes the reconstruction of one or two traditional huts to support cultural interpretation and storytelling, subject to cultural consultation, approvals and partnerships.
Potential Uses:
Cultural Storytelling • Education • Historical Interpretation • Community Programs
Example — Mount Noorat
Mount Noorat forms part of Project One as the setting for a traditional trading gathering.
The project explores temporary traditional trading huts alongside cultural and historical interpretation, educational walking trails, outdoor gathering spaces and potential future cultural gatherings or market experiences.
Potential Uses:
Cultural Gatherings • Walking Trails • Education • Tourism • Community Events
Example — Traditional Cave Shelters
Traditional cave shelters appear throughout Project One as part of the story of shelter, protection and everyday life on Country.
The project proposes several reconstructed shelters that could support cultural interpretation and guided storytelling, with possible locations around Anakie and surrounding areas, subject to consultation and approvals.
Potential Uses:
Storytelling • Cultural Education • Guided Experiences • Historical Interpretation
A Living Cultural Network
The goal is not simply to preserve film sets.
It is to transform the research, skills, designs and cultural assets generated through production into a network that can continue supporting:
First Nations Collaboration • Education • Cultural Preservation • Regional Tourism • Community Programs • Historical Interpretation • Employment & Enterprise • Future Film Projects
The prospectus currently identifies 14+ proposed permanent and movable structures and heritage environments as part of this wider legacy vision.
Built With Communities
Cultural infrastructure will only have lasting value when it is developed with the people and communities connected to the stories and Country.
MLA works with Traditional Owners, Elders, cultural advisers, local communities, historians, educators, landholders and project partners throughout research and development.
Infrastructure intended for ongoing cultural or community use remains subject to cultural authority, consultation, consent, site approvals and project partnerships.
Beyond the Film
Film is the catalyst. Legacy is the purpose.
Through Project One, Magic Lands Alliance aims to demonstrate how screen production can become the starting point for something enduring — creating places where people can learn, gather, experience history, connect with Country and carry stories forward for future generations.
Interested in Supporting Cultural Infrastructure?
MLA welcomes conversations with First Nations organisations, government, tourism bodies, education institutions, philanthropic organisations, businesses, landholders and community partners interested in helping develop lasting cultural assets.