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 ge ...

codes at sites around

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

, Western Australia to link people to articles on

Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...

. It has since evolved into a WikiTown project aiming to build comprehensive coverage of Fremantle on Wikipedia. The original idea came from

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

's Monmouthpedia. 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 usually refers to either, # A guided walk of a historical or cultural site, usually in an urban setting, or # A long walk over several days in the countryside. Also called backpacking. Definitions (1) Also included are a walking ...

with the help of a map produced by the City. The Freopedia Heritage Tour is one of several Fremantle walking tours and trails publicized 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 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 as a psychiatric hospital, initiall ...

and the Round House 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 (known simply as Notre Dame; ; French language, French for 'Mary, mother of Jesus, Our Lady') is a Private university, private Catholic university with campuses in Perth, Sydney and Broome, Western Austr ...

, 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 navy, navies and the m ...

. The collaboration has been between the Fremantle Society and

Wikimedia Australia The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (WMF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, and registered there as a charitable foundation. It is the host of Wikipedia, the eighth most visited website ...

, supported by the

City of Fremantle The City of Fremantle is a local government areas of Western Australia, 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 ...

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

Heritage Council The Heritage Council () 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, environmental and economic well-being." ...

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

Toodyaypedia Toodyay (, ), 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 in the 1850s, ...

, in Toodyay.

References

External links

* {{self-reference link, 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