G'day from Upwey... hi-tech chat for global village

Members of the Upwey Society and residents packed the village hall to surprise the community Down Under in the state of Victoria.

The webcam link was set up for a quiz event being held in Upwey, Australia, to raise money for a kindergarten.

Councillor Mike Goodman, who is a member of the Upwey Society, said: “It all went very well.

“We had quite a long time online with them.

“We exchanged some questions and answers about each others’ places.”

Coun Goodman, who is chairman of the borough council, added: “They were actually in the middle of a snow storm while we had brilliant sunshine.

“The only problem with a link up is the nine hours time difference.

“It was evening over there and breakfast time here.”

The link-up came after Coun Goodman was contacted by Matthew Bradley in Upwey, Victoria, to ask for his help in setting up a live link for a fundraising quiz.

People at the quiz in Victoria were asked tough questions about Upwey in Dorset, which they couldn’t answer.

Then, they were told ‘maybe these people can help’ and members of the Upwey Society in Dorset were revealed on a screen.

The two communities exchanged pleasantries and swapped questions and information about each other.

Members of the Upwey Society in Dorset also raised money at their breakfast event for the kindergarten in Victoria.

Residents at the Dorset event included Prof Gwen Nayler who emigrated to Upwey from Australia some years ago.

Prof Nayler’s ancestors had emigrated to Australia from the UK generations ago and her grandfather was headmaster at the school in Upwey, Victoria.

Members of the Upwey Society in Dorset gathered technology to make the link happen. Weymouth and Portland Borough Council provided a projector and big screen.

BT provided the laptop and internet connection, Coun Goodman supplied a microphone and Andy Cooke brought the webcam.

Now the society hopes to repeat the link-up – possibly at New Year and through schools.