Mobdeadly

1 Oct

On the 4th September 2005 I boarded a plane from Perth Western Australia disembarking amongst a flotilla of FIFO miner orange flags at Newman Airport. I was met by the enigmatic Gary Leinert from Pilbara TAFE and we set out west in a 'troopy' along the Talawana Track out to Parnngurr Community which is situated out near Lake Disappointment, a five hour drive.

The purpose of the trip was to engage young people in moblogging activities about their community and to test differing technology types in zero or minimal GSM range. The results and the trip was quite astounding using the 'Moblog.co.uk' service in the United Kingdom. The photos captured by myself then by the communities that had been watermarked are quite exceptional I learned a lot from the experience.

The site didactic welcome message reads:

“… Parnngurr is located 370 kilometres due east of Newman in Western Australia. The community is located in the Great Sandy Desert at the southern end of Karlamilyi (Rudall River) National Park. There are 150 or so permanent residents here, a shop, and one school. All images that appear in this moblog do so with the express permission of individuals depicted. All content is subject to change by the site moderators. The Parnngurr Community retain full copyright for any material or content appearing in this user profile repository.Refer to Moblog.co.uk for any other statements regarding Creative Commons otherwise.”

The following are a few representative photos taken from the Mobdeadly moblog that has been hosted for many years after the service became defunct in 2007. The images were taken on mobile phones and an XDA PDA which were then when returned to GSM coverage sending the photos online to the community moblog, Mobdeadly.

Mobdeadly - September 4, 2005

"...This photo was taken by one of the students at Parnngurr. The students were getting used to how to use the phones - they found the games quicker than they could use the camera function - interesting observation - would concur with Marc Prensky's theory."

Mount Whaleback - September 6th, 2005

"... Have no idea what that tank has in it."

Nullagine Turnoff - September 6th, 2005

"...You really cant get lost going to Parnngurr. This is the one that takes you onto the Nullagine Road. Miss this and you'll end up in Perth."

Jigalong Road - September 6, 2005

"...This is a section of road to Jigalong. Because Jigalong is so well known (because of the rabbit proof fence), any sign that says Jigalong does often get stolen. Miss this turn off and you will end up at Nullagine and eventually to Broome. That would be a shame."

Talawana Track - September 6, 2015

"...This is the fourth turn off. Miss this one and you will end up at Balfour Downs homestead."

Talawana Plaque - September 6, 2005

Patched - September 7, 2005

“… splicing into the satellite system using the best of
technologies - courtesy of Telstra and a host of other
consortiums … step outside …. the stars are a site brighter up this way than down in the big smoke”