WA Museum launches the National Anzac Centre website with digital agency Precedent

To mark the centenary of the Australian and New Zealand troop convoys’ departure from Albany to the First World War, the National Anzac Centre was launched on 1 November. The $10.6 million Centre features content developed by the Western Australian Museum, Australian War Memorial and New Zealand cultural institutions and offers visitors a uniquely interactive experience.

Working collaboratively with the Western Australian Museum, digital agency Precedent have created a website to support the new Centre, developing infrastructure that not only powers the Centre’s digital presence, but also powers the Centre’s interactive tour. Interactive screens throughout the Centre allow visitors to discover and explore rich Anzac stories via 32 personal accounts.

Visitors to the Centre are presented with a character card which surfaces live digital content as they explore different chapters of World War One events throughout the Centre. This innovative approach creates an interactive customer experience for the thousands of visitors expected to visit the National Anzac Centre, as well as online visitors at home.

Dan Baker, Digital Experience Director at Precedent said, “The design brief allowed us to develop an innovative, interactive experience that focuses on telling the stories of Australian and New Zealand soldiers. The website brings some of the physical experience of being at the Anzac Centre into the digital space, allowing a global audience to explore and contribute to those stories and gain an insight into what it was like for the soldiers and others involved in the conflict.”

The Centre opened by the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers and Western Australian Premier marks a significant milestone in our nation’s history and brings a 100-year old story to life through digital story-telling.

Developed in Drupal 7 and hosted in the cloud with full API integration, dynamic content is displayed across multiple platforms to deliver a deeply personal experience. The website is optimised for mobile delivery allowing users unable to physically visit the Centre to share this experience.

Morgan Strong, Manager, Digital Services at Western Australian Museum said, “We needed to ensure that the important Anzac stories would be accessible to everyone, for both visitors to the National Anzac Centre and people at home. Through the development of this website and digital framework both the physical and virtual experience has been enhanced, and everyone can contribute and leave their tributes, wherever they are.”