Freopedia began as a project to install

QRpedia QRpedia is a mobile Web-based system which uses QR codes to deliver Wikipedia articles to users, in their preferred language. A typical use is on museum labels, linking to Wikipedia articles about the exhibited object. QR codes can easily be gene ...

codes at sites around

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Western Australia to link people to articles on Wikipedia. It has since evolved into a WikiTown project aiming to build comprehensive coverage of Fremantle on Wikipedia. The original idea came from

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

Monmouthpedia Monmouthpedia (styled as ) is a collaborative project linking the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and the town of Monmouth in South Wales. The project uses QRpedia QR codes to provide multilingual smart phone access to Wikipedia articles coveri ...

. Fremantle is the first city in Australia to have such a project, and thus a virtual tour of its historic sites. Visitors to Fremantle are encouraged to take a

walking tour A walking tour is a tour of a historical or cultural site undertaken on foot, frequently in an urban setting. Short tours can last under an hour, while longer ones can take in multiple sites and last a full day or more. A walk can be led by a tou ...

with the help of a map produced by the City. The Freopedia Heritage Tour is one of several

Fremantle walking tours and trails The historic city of Fremantle, Western Australia has many walking tours and trails. A variety of books and pamphlets describe these trails. The walking through or around Fremantle is celebrated in at least one song, and also had involved compe ...

publicised by the City. Freopedia 8 gnangarra

The official launch took place at the W D Moore & Co Warehouse on 26 May 2013. The

Fremantle Arts Centre The Fremantle Arts Centre is a multi-arts organisation based in a historic building complex on Ord Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. The heritage-listed building complex was built using convict labour between 1861 and 1868 and was used ...

and the

Round House Roundhouse may refer to: Architecture and buildings Types * Roundhouse (dwelling), a kind of house with circular walls, prehistoric and modern, all over the world ** Atlantic roundhouse, an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and weste ...

were included in the first set of sites. The creation of content on Wikipedia and the driving force of the project has come from the work of Wikipedian editors. Subsequently local groups and collaborators have supported the project, however content creation and maintenance of the project has remained with Wikipedians. Installation of plaques has been carried out by Fremantle Society volunteers, the

University of Notre Dame Australia The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) is a national Roman Catholic private university with campuses in and in Western Australia and Sydney in New South Wales. The university also has eight clinical schools as part of its school of med ...

, and

Fremantle Port Authority Fremantle Port Authority, also known by its registered business name Fremantle Ports, is the responsible authority created under the Western Australian Port Authorities Act 1999. Harbour administration In August 1829 the Fremantle Harbour Master ...

. The latter produced eight of their own plaques, of blue plastic, and are () installing them around Victoria Quay and the

Maritime Museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the militar ...

. The collaboration has been between the

Fremantle Society The Fremantle Society is a community-based culture and heritage advocacy group in Fremantle, Western Australia. It was formed in 1972 to prevent demolition of historic buildings in Fremantle and to assist in their development. As the significan ...

and

Wikimedia Australia The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., or Wikimedia for short and abbreviated as WMF, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California and registered as a charitable foundation under local laws. Best know ...

, supported by the

City of Fremantle The City of Fremantle is a local government area in the south of Perth, Western Australia. The City covers an area of , and lies about southwest of the Perth central business district. History The City of Fremantle is named after Charles Frem ...

, State Records Office, Fremantle Business Improvement District, Fremantle Port Authority, and other organisations in Fremantle. The project was a finalist in the

Heritage Council The Heritage Council ( ga, An Comhairle Oidhreachta) is an organisation created by the Irish government to "engage, educate and advocate to develop a wider understanding of the vital contribution that our heritage makes to our social, environmenta ...

's 2014 Western Australian Heritage Awards, and inspired the creation of a similar project,

Toodyaypedia Toodyay (, nys, Duidgee), known as Newcastle between 1860 and 1910, is a town on the Avon River in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, north-east of Perth. The first European settlement occurred in the area in 1836. After flooding i ...

, in Toodyay.

References

External links

* {{srlink, Wikipedia:WikiTown/Freopedia, Freopedia project page
Freopedia Heritage Tour map
showing locations of QR codes, as of May 2014 2013 establishments in Australia Fremantle Wikitown projects Articles containing video clips