The historic Australian town of Halls Creek can be divided by its golden past and its present cultural wealth.

The memories of the old town’s years of riches and mining haunt the Western Australia desert while the new town is one of the largest predominantly Indigenous communities in Australia.

Overhead shot of Halls Creek, Western Australia

Much like the old town, the Shire of Halls Creek’s corporate and visitor centre websites were now considered pieces of legacy too. The local authority’s websites were old and dated and did not represent the community it was serving. The content management system (CMS) was impractical and the Shire often required third-party assistance to maintain the site.

In order to offer the community and visitors a better digital experience, the Shire of Halls Creek moved to Datacom’s Datascape Websites – an all-in-one CMS specifically developed for councils.

Designed to be responsive and offer a seamless digital service to local governments, the new websites are fully supported and maintained, so the Shire can manage its own content and keep it current. Upgrades and improvements are also included as part of a software as a service (SaaS) model, resulting in the cost of ownership being far lower than other website solutions, yet still delivering the same rich content.

The websites were designed with the community and visitors in mind also. Datascape Websites offers customers a contemporary website design. The Shire's website features locally-produced artwork that matches the culture of the town’s Indigenous community.

Visitors can now also use instant online payments. With Datascape Websites, the Shire of Halls Creek has added a booking system, Bookeasy, so users can now browse accommodation options and book and pay for it all online through the visitor website.

The Datascape CMS also connects to the authority’s digital signage and displays helpful information such as road reports, employment opportunities, and regional event information, helping the Shire to use the previously underutilised screens effectively.

“A big part of our need for the visitor centre was to highlight our local attractions, from the magnificent striped domes of the Bungle Bungles in Purnululu National Park to Wolfe Creek Crater, and I feel that the new websites do that really well,” says Lloyd Barton, director, corporate services, Shire of Halls Creek.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shire’s websites have become a valuable information resource to the vulnerable community and been able to provide timely and accurate information.

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