Life before smartphones

dvntech1 Craig Ramsay found a number of gadgets to remind gallery visitors what people used before smartphones.

Imagine going back in time to a time before smartphones - that's what a display at Dannevirke's Gallery of History is all about.

The man who put this display together is Craig Ramsay.

Wanting something to do to "get me out of my cave I'd built for myself", Ramsay decided to sign up as a volunteer.

While working out the back of the gallery, he came across "all these neat gadgets from the past".

Gadgets such as an old video game, actually made in New Zealand in 1984, an old typewriter, video cameras and even the old rotary phone.

He says a display was already on the stage but he wanted to tell a story of what we used to use before smartphones.

"It exploded into 60 pieces."

Ramsay says it's surprising how many gadgets are installed on smartphones.

Although the display shows the progression of technology, he says it's amazing how some things have stayed the same.

He pulls out a book that is about 100 years old and in the front is a page of advertising - which we still have today, albeit probably a lot more.

The response so far has been great.

Although it's easy to assume many children seeing the display wouldn't know what some of the items were, Ramsay says some of the comments suggest otherwise.

"The grandparents go: 'Ooh, I had that at school' and the parents say: 'We had that' and the kids go: 'Yeah, we've still got them'."

He says children love playing with some of the gadgets - which their parents and grandparents no doubt did at the same age.

"They're still fascinated by the same things."

Ramsay says the project has been fun and a good reason to find some of the hidden treasures that need to be shared.

"[They're] quite fascinating snapshots of life in history and that's something that people who live in the now forget to appreciate."

The display will be available until September.