Collaborating with the Porirua City Council Cemetery Team and local historian Allan Dodson. The aim was for visitors to the historic cemetery to be able to digitally find more information about the World War One veterans.
We did this by installing 16 QR codes on distinctive red posts in the cemetery, off Kenepuru Dr. Visitors can scan the codes with their smartphone and it takes the user to the Council cemeteries website, where they can read a little more about the person buried in that gravesite.
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Because of the rise of the use of QR codes, due to covid-19, we decided visitors to the cemetery would be familiar with this solution. To create the QR codes, I used QR Code Generator tool. This tool offers a free or paid subscription. We opted for the paid subscription, giving us a few more options to use.
I created a landing page and worked with the Web Developer to create anchors, allowing a visitors a more fluid experience. The layout of the page was in alphabetical order and there was also the option to go to the Porirua War Stories website, run by historian Allan Dodson, which has more comprehensive profiles on each of the veterans. Allan provided images of the veterans.
Check out the webpage here
Cemeteries Manager Daniel Chrisp says the QR codes were placed just in time for the recent Cemeteries Week, during which Mr Dodson gave guided walks of Porirua Cemetery.
Mr Chrisp hopes that, in time, more QR codes can added into Porirua Cemetery to include pioneers and settlers. There are already informative signs near some notable graves at the historic Pāuatahanui Burial Grounds.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker says acknowledging some of the military personnel who served overseas with QR codes was fitting.
This digital solution was nominated and received a special mention at the 2021 New Zealand Cemeteries and Crematoria Collective 2021 awards.
