Former Whanganui student brings home Australia's top digital award

Chris Hay with one of his WWI projects. Photo/ Supplied

A former Whanganui student last month picked up Australia's top digital award for his smartphone app, Nga Tapuwae.

For the last three years Chris Hay's business Locales have been working on the app that locates New Zealand's war trails through Gallipoli and the Western Front in France, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

The 49-year-old said he spent a lot of time in Gallipoli and Europe with a local historian walking through all the major battlefields during World War I which New Zealanders were involved in.

"We would film them and I would do that for a couple of months at a time.

"After that, we would come back and design the app and record the historian telling those stories so the app can be used as a guide as people walk through those battlefields," Mr Hay said.

He said a lot of research was put into the app to ensure people had everything they needed in their pocket when they went to visit the sites.

So how did this successful award-winning businessman get to where he is now?

"It started in Whanganui. I was reading work by Mark Twain with my grandma and she told me Whanganui was the only town in the world to erect a statue of a traitor."

The former St Augustine, now known as Cullinane College, student said when he heard this statement he was gobsmacked.

"I spent lots of my childhood trying to figure out what that meant, so I read about the New Zealand wars and how complex that statement really was."

After leaving school Mr Hay completed a Bachelor of Arts in info systems at Massey University in Palmerston North.

"BAs are great degrees because they give you a good range of subjects that interest you."

He later completed his masters in communications creative industry for computer interactives at Victoria University in Wellington.

In 2008, after gaining years of experience creating expos for museums around New Zealand, he started Locales.

His business has three main operations including; visitor centres and exhibitions; multi-platform story trails; and digital interaction.

"Basically, we create visitor experiences through storytelling."

This year he has also won two other highly regarded awards including a global award, 2017 Webby Nominee for Best Website, and 2017 NZ Museums Exhibition Excellence Award in Science and Technology.

For students undecided about a career path, Mr Hay said sometimes your passion comes later on in life.

"The first place to start is getting a job and independence. Focus on one thing at a time and every experience will lead to another."