History
Australian Holographics Pty Ltd. was incorporated in Adelaide, South Australia in 1989 by Dr. David Brotherton Ratcliffe. Dr. Ratcliffe was at the time a Research Fellow in Physics in the School of Physical Sciences, at Flinders University. The senior holographers working with Dr. Ratcliffe were initially Mr. Geoffrey Fox, and subsequently Mark Trinne.
In 1992, David Ratcliffe formed GEOLA Labs in Vilnius, Lithuania to concentrate on the manufacture of pulsed Neodymium YLF lasers. In May 1992, Simon Edhouse joined Australian Holographics as Marketing Manager, and became the General Manager later that year. Then the company focused on international science museums. It sold large holograms to museums in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Japan. In 1993, Sunkung Corporation of South Korea commissioned Australian Holographics to produce an exhibition of ten large format holograms for Expo '93.
In October 1993, David Ratcliffe relocated to Europe, and handed operational control of the day-to-day running of the Adelaide studios to Simon Edhouse and his company Multi Cellular Media Pty. Ltd. Simon Edhouse managed the marketing and operations until the Australian facility closed in 1998.
In 1994, Australian Holographics produced a series of holographic billboards for the Singaporean military to promote the 'NS Men' (National Service Men) campaign，unveiled by the Singapore Minister for Defence The holograms were rainbow transmissions, and enclosed in a compact viewing enclosure which housed a mirror to extend the light path for optimal viewing conditions. Also in 1994, Multi Cellular Media Pty. Ltd. trading as Australian Holographics, signed a joint venture agreement with the South Australian Museum, giving the company access to the Museum's vast collection of exhibits.
A Holographic Diorama of Extinct Thylacines
One of the first projects undertaken by the new venture was the production of a 1.6 x 1.1 metre rainbow transmission hologram of a family of thylacines. The holographic thylacines, shown standing on a rocky outcrop in a field of dry grass, portrays the now extinct Thylacines as a family group, with the small thylacine pup protruding 50 cm in front of the holographic image-plane. The finished hologram had its debut at the SA Museum as part of the Inaugural Innovate SA festival in September 1995.
The company also produced a 1.5 x 1.1 metre hologram of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull from the S.A. Museum's collection.
In 1995, a large series of holograms were produced of satellites and space vehicles. The most notable of these holograms was the giant 2.1 x 1.1 metre rainbow transmission hologram of the MIR Space Station. This hologram showed a 2 x 3 metre scale model of MIR apparently floating high above the Earth. The model of the Earth used in this hologram was custom made by Adelaide Artist John Haratsis. It measured 4 x 5 x .6 metres resembling a thin slice of a much larger sphere.
In 1996, a 'Great White Shark' hologram was produced by the company from a 4.5 metre model made in Queensland by David Joffe. The resulting 1.5 x 1.1 metre rainbow transmission hologram would become the most popular of all the Australian Holographics stock images, being sold around the world to museums, private collections and tourist venues.
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