Courtney and Monique Russell at the Coastal display.
Camera IconCourtney and Monique Russell at the Coastal display. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

App gives region’s display a modern edge over rivals: Perth Royal Show

Lucy JarvisHills Avon Valley Gazette

The region, which covers Kalamunda and Mundaring, had a display featuring an app, Augmented Coastal, that showgoers could download onto their phones.

Targets reveal hidden photos, animations, sounds and information related to agricultural sectors within the Coastal region.

Architect student Alaric Korb, whose mother Peta was Coastal’s co-ordinator, designed the app and said the idea started out as a joke.

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“But when I mentioned it to mum she took it seriously and encouraged me to go ahead,” he said.

“I had never designed an app before, so it was a big learning curve.”

Hundreds of people downloaded it onto their phones on the first day of the show and tablets were available for those without iPhones.

Great Southern was second overall, a triumph considering last year the group feared it would have to leave the competition following the retirement of volunteers. Former co-ordinator Greg Brockway showed the ropes to volunteers who stepped up to keep the tradition going.

“To come second overall more than exceeded expectations,” he said.

“Coastal has started a new era in district displays with its use of the kind of technology that some of us older ones did not even know existed.

“The group has been knocking on the door a long time and I am pleased they finally got the win.”