Ghosts of Biloela
September 3, 2016 5:15 AM   Subscribe

Developed by Que Minh Luu and Jesse Cox, the app Ghosts of Biloela (available free for Android and iPhone), takes you into the classrooms and dorms of Sydney's notorious Biloela reform school.

You are Mary Ann Meehan. Another girl, Elizabeth Sharpley, meets you as you step off the ferry and onto Cockatoo Island in the 1870s. "Follow the story of the inmates of the Biloela Reformatory & Industrial School as they rebel against the tyrannic rule" of Superintendent Lucas. You can use the app as an audioguide if visiting the island, but it also offers "armchair mode" for a virtual visit via your phone.

Reform School Cockatoo Island home page. Wikipedia.

Further reading? Sure! Interview with Yvette Poshoglian, author of the novel Escape from Cockatoo Island. (2013 book, available from scholastic.com.au, I couldn't find it at Amazon.)

Biloela at dictionary of sydney.
posted by Autumn Leaf (3 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Damn.
posted by allthinky at 6:27 AM on September 3, 2016


Where is the link to the app?
posted by oceanjesse at 8:17 AM on September 3, 2016


App links are here, or just search the relevant app store for "Ghosts of Biloela".

iTunes

Google Play

Android version weighs in at about 66 Mb due to about half an hour of audio content. iPhone version is probably about the same.
posted by Autumn Leaf at 9:20 AM on September 3, 2016


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