How STQRY Helped Transform Millbrook, Bringing a Submerged Town Back to Life Through a Living Digital Experience

Many historical places stay with us long after we’ve left them, not because of what we saw, but because of what we felt. These places create lasting emotional connections, sparking a desire to preserve their stories for future generations. But as time passes and physical traces disappear, how can we keep these connections alive?

Thanks to a unique collaboration between Mobile Adventures Australia—a family-run business specializing in mobile storytelling and the STQRY platform, one of those nearly forgotten places has been brought back to life.

Launched in May 2025, Millbrook: A Submerged Story That Still Stirs transforms the history of a drowned South Australian town into an immersive mobile experience, complete with geolocated stories, archival photos, and personal reflections. Designed by Roger Edmonds, Mobile Adventures Australia’s CEO and Creative Director, the project is both a tribute to a lost community and a powerful example of how digital tools can preserve local heritage in accessible, emotional ways.

About Millbrook

Beneath the still waters of South Australia’s Millbrook Reservoir lies the story of a once-thriving rural township. Located about 30 kilometers northeast of Adelaide, Millbrook was home to around 139 residents in the early 20th century. It had all the hallmarks of a close-knit community: school, church, flour mill, hotel, and district hall, set among farms and orchards.

In 1912, the Millbrook Waterworks Act authorized the construction of a reservoir to meet Adelaide’s growing water needs. By 1918, the project was complete, and the valley, including the township of Millbrook, was permanently submerged.

Though long hidden, Millbrook’s spirit endures. This mobile tour invites you to rediscover some of its people, places, and stories, offering a deeper understanding of the township’s history and the creation of the reservoir above it.

Uncover the Forgotten Heart of Millbrook

Roger Edmonds is Mobile Adventures Australia's CEO and Creative Director, specializing in designing and developing custom mobile tours using the STQRY platform. Since 2010, Roger has helped communities, educators, and cultural organizations bring local stories to life through immersive digital experiences.

One of his most personal projects is Millbrook: A Submerged Story That Still Stirs—a mobile tour rooted in the landscape of his own childhood. With a deep-rooted connection to its history, Roger set out to create something more than just a tour. This project became a tribute to the families who lived there, to the land that shaped them, and to the memories that risked being lost beneath the surface.

Growing up in Chain of Ponds, just 100 metres from the Millbrook Reservoir, and attending Millbrook School for six years, Roger developed a deep connection to the area. This bond inspired a mobile tour titled Millbrook: A Submerged Story That Still Stirs, capturing not just the history but the emotional legacy of a town nearly erased by time, where echoes of home and community still resonate.

Launched in May 2025, the tour is available on the Mobile Adventures Australia app or a companion website. Through heartfelt storytelling and immersive digital media, Roger has revived a piece of South Australian history and made it accessible to all. For him, this project is not just about what was lost, but what can still be remembered.

Why does Mobile Adventures Australia use STQRY to create powerful and immersive experiences?

Mobile Adventures Australia leverages the STQRY Builder to create powerful and immersive mobile tours by connecting rich content, stories, and multimedia into unique, interactive experiences. The research took him over two years to complete.

“Because the affordances of mobile technology and the STQRY development platform would allow me to tell personal stories of the people and the places in the submerged town better than any other traditional medium I know,” states Roger Edmonds.

Using the STQRY platform, Mobile Adventures Australia enhances tourism attractions, enriches educational programs, adds value to museums and cultural collections, transforms workplace learning into engaging experiences, and improves delegate engagement at conferences and events. The app’s ability to integrate GPS-triggered content, audio narration, images, and interactive elements allows the creation of tours that deepen user engagement and learning.

Building Apps Using STQRY

For Roger, building mobile tours with the STQRY platform provides a flexible and powerful way to create immersive and engaging experiences. He values how his tours have evolved through STQRY’s advanced features, and Mobile Adventures Australia has greatly benefited from the platform’s robust functionality and responsive support.

Smart Geolocation

STQRY's geolocation features allow Roger to guide users through physical environments with precision. Tour stops trigger automatically based on location, creating a natural flow that mirrors the landscape itself. This technology transforms navigation into discovery, allowing stories to unfold organically as users move through space, turning each location into a meaningful narrative moment.

Engaging Multimedia

The platform enables Roger to embed multiple layers of digital content directly into each tour stop. Archival photos, historical documents, personal interviews, and audio recordings add depth and context that help users understand the cultural and historical significance of places they visit. Ordinary locations become compelling story touchpoints, enriched with meaning and connection.

Easy to Use

STQRY's user-friendly design extends beyond Roger's development work to benefit his clients directly. His clients also receive training from him that empowers them to manage and expand content independently. This approach ensures project sustainability while building digital confidence in local communities and institutions.

"STQRY as a mobile tour development platform is easy to use, allowing non-technical users to build and manage the mobile tours they commission me to develop in the first instance," explains Roger Edmonds.

This simplicity also accelerates Roger's own workflow, updates, and expansions that keep storytelling agile and responsive to new insights or evolving community needs.

Vision for Millbrook in the Digital Age

Though the Millbrook tour has just launched, its potential goes well beyond a single digital experience. In today’s connected world, it offers a new model for historical storytelling that uses digital tools to weave together the people and places of Millbrook into a compelling, immersive narrative.

Through rich digital media, the tour bridges time and space, allowing visitors to explore the lost township either on-site or remotely. This dual accessibility reflects how digital heritage can transcend physical boundaries and appeal to younger generations who naturally move between digital and real-world experiences.

More than just documentation, the Millbrook tour shows how technology can democratize history. As communities look for new ways to preserve their stories, this approach offers a path forward, transforming heritage into new forms of connection and remembrance for a global, digital-era audience.

Bringing Millbrook to Light

Roger was honoured to be invited by South Australia's History Advocate, Dr Kiera Lindsey, to present at the grand finale of the prestigious 2025 South Australian History Festival on May 31. His presentation, titled ‘Creating a Sense of Place Using Mobile Tours,’ highlighted the Millbrook tour and aimed to generate meaningful exposure for the project through this significant event.

Start with the Right Platform

Choosing the right development platform was essential to effectively bringing Millbrook’s story to life. STQRY proved to be the ideal choice, not only for its technical capabilities, but also for how it aligned with his vision of sustainable, community-driven heritage preservation.

"STQRY as a mobile tour development platform is easy to use, and it manages rich digital media well, which is at the core of this tour," explains Roger. 

The Millbrook tour relies heavily on archival photographs, historical documents, and audio recordings to recreate the vanished township. STQRY's media management system ensures these diverse content types integrate seamlessly, creating the immersive experience that makes visitors feel genuinely connected to the lost community.

Beyond development capabilities, Roger values STQRY for its role in project sustainability. The platform's intuitive design supports his broader mission of community empowerment.

Key Takeaways

• Deep personal connection enhances storytelling.

• Using the right digital tools can transform traditional storytelling into immersive, accessible experiences that reach wider and more diverse audiences.

• Technology can democratize history, allowing communities to share their own stories with control and pride.

• Stories can create lasting and meaningful connections between people and place.

• Choosing the Right Platform is Key to Success.

Create Your Own Tour App Today

STQRY lets you create interactive mobile experiences effortlessly, no coding needed.

From walking tours to audio guides and historical or heritage content, the intuitive platform and dedicated support empower you to share stories that captivate and engage.

Bring your ideas to life now! Try STQRY Builder for free and start creating your own mobile tour app today.