URALLA’S Sound Walk is expected to be up and running next year, guests at a New England Mutual (NEM) business breakfast were told recently.
The innovative venture, believed to be an Australian regional first, will give visitors and locals an insight into the town’s history, stories and folklore via their smart phones.
NEM has contributed $6000 through the 118 supporting votes registered on its www.heartofourcommunity.com.au website, bringing the fundraising to the three-quarter mark.
Uralla Arts president Andrew Parker said the concept to develop an app (application) for smart phones and tablets followed the success of the recent local Story Project which recorded and edited 40 stories of around 40 minutes each about the life of the town, past and present.
“The stories are available online (www.urallastories.org.au) and CDs are available at the local library and it seemed a logical next step to edit these down to make them accessible through mobile devices and add to them,” he said.
“Visitors will be able to download the app at the Visitors Information Centre and tour the town, stopping at various places indicated on a map where they can hear the local stories and history, with appropriate music and background sounds, through their headphones.
“It’s the equivalent to meeting a really well-informed local who knows all the history and the yarns and can impart them in a interesting and lively way.”
Some of the key spots will be at Thunderbolt’s statue, Stokers House, the local monuments, dance halls, McCrossins Mill, the Old Phoenix Foundry, Mt Mutton mine, cafes and an old woolstore.
Local historians including Arnold Goode have helped with the project, The Story Project’s Helen Wlikinson and Hamish Sewell are assisting to produce the segments and a Queensland technology firm Workware is developing the app.
“We were inspired by a similar project in Hackney, London, and have based our project on that,” Mr Parker said.
“We are confident that we have the right people and technology to deliver a cutting-edge product that will benefit tourists and the local community by keeping our history and local stories well and truly alive.”
As well as from NEM, support from the project has come from the Federal Government, Uralla Shire Council, Phoenix Foundary, the Queensland University of Technology, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and many local businesses and individuals.
For those wishing to assists in the launch of this initiative, donations for the Sound Walk can be made at New England Mutual Uralla Branch.
