Call for volunteers to man the Isle of Man's Camera Obscura
A group responsible for operating a Victorian tourist attraction is calling for new volunteers.The Isle of Man Victorian Society, which has run the Great Union Camera Obscura on Douglas Head since 2005, made the appeal after a number of current members become unable to man it.The structure, which was built in 1892, uses sunlight to project an image of the outside world onto a surface in a darkened space.Appealing for volunteers, society chairman Peter Kelly called for "anyone with an interest and a concern that we don't lose this unique piece of Victorian ingenuity" to come forward.
The Douglas Head structure was "unique" as it had 12 lenses around the building, instead of the more typical single aperture in the centre of the roof, Mr Kelly said.That meant visitors could move around, and viewing various pictures of Douglas Promenade and Onchan Head, rather than having someone inside controlling the single aperture on the roof, he said."This was moving coloured pictures before there was cinema, let alone television and so the Victorians when they were inside could observe what was going on outside," he continued.
The structure was purchased by the Manx government in the late 1980s before eventually being restored and re-opened to the public in 2005, when the Victorian Society was asked to run it. At that time, the society had 40 volunteers, and while there were currently 20, about 10 were unable to help out at the moment, Mr Kelly said.While there had been concerns the site would have to shut for the remainder of the summer if more volunteers did not step forward, he said recent calls had lead to a "few more" people stepping forward, but the society was still appealing for additional people to join the society.The structure played an important role in continuing to "show future generations what life was like in the past", Mr Kelly added. The site is open from 13:00 until 16:00 BST on Saturdays, and 11:00 until 16:00 BST on Sundays during the summer season.
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