THE smell of eucalyptus, the sights and sounds of the Australian forest, the breeze in your face - for many visitors to Australia, these sensations are their reason for coming.
But now those with limited time don't actually have to go to a rain forest to experience it. And they don't need to seek out a museum to learn a little of Australia's history.
All that's needed is A$6 (about HK$30) and 50 minutes to sit in the AustraliaGate theatre on the banks of Melbourne's Yarra River. It's much like going to the movies, but this is no ordinary picture show.
In fact, it's being hailed by its creators as a world first in entertainment technology. Called Sensor Vision, it uses three video projectors, 24 slide projectors, 18 speakers, 24 channel digital sound and computer controlled systems which can change thesmell, temperature and humidity of the theatre in a show called ''Experience Australia''.
For tourists there's a simultaneous translation via headset in Mandarin, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Spanish or Greek to replace the narration of local actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell (Cantonese will be available within a few months).
Via those screens, the story of Australia from the early Aborigines and the beginnings of European settlement to the post-war lifestyle is told.
Smells such as eucalyptus (the forest scene), smoke (the bushfire) and gunpowder (the firing of a musket during the Eureka rebellion) are contained in computer controlled boxes outside the theatre, released electronically and pumped in through pipes whichrun along the back of each row of seats.
