Australia Blog
News and notes from Google Down Under
Street View in the Top End
Monday, December 15, 2008
We're always working to include more Australian locations in Street View. Last week, we added many new streets in
Darwin
,
Geelong
and remote parts of the Northern Territory.
With more of the Top End now in Street View, I decided to do a bit of research about the Baz Luhrmann movie
Australia
, and check out some familiar scenes from the movie in Street View and Google Maps.
Of course, with Kakadu now in Street View, the iconic Australia's outback is now on show for all to see:
View Larger Map
(As you may know, the Kimberley region of WA was the actual filming location for many scenes in the movie - I came across this great Google Maps
mashup
that Tourism WA has made, showing satellite images of where 'Faraway Downs' and other outback locations were filmed).
While we now have large parts of Darwin visible, the real shooting location for Darwin for the movie was the town of Bowen in Queensland. Recognise these shots?
The main pub, the Territory Hotel, in Darwin (aka GrandView Hotel, Bowen):
View Larger Map
Customs House, Bowen where Bryan Brown's character is seen frequently:
View Larger Map
The police station in Darwin (this is a facade on 2 units in Bowen that the Street View cars photographed):
View Larger Map
Lots of Australians are using Street View to check out their holiday destinations before arriving. As 2009 winds down and we enter summer, I hope you continue to enjoy your Street View exploring (and movie watching)!
Posted by Andrew Foster, Product Manager
Bringing Maps to our Pacific neighbours
Friday, December 12, 2008
We're pleased to announce the launch of
Google Map Maker
for 43 new countries and territories, including our Oceania neighbours in Fiji, Palau and Midway. Map Maker now allows people to create complete maps for most of Oceania, from Papua New Guinea to Samoa and Micronesia, bringing the total to
164 countries
across the world.
Map Maker is all about making local data rich, complete and vibrant. Just take a look at how our users transformed the map of Da Lat, Vietnam in this time lapse video.
We hope that one day, people around the world will have access to high quality maps of their home country, whether that be here in Australia or thousands of kilometres away in Vanuatu. If you want to help by sharing your local knowledge about a favourite destination in Oceania (or anywhere else), go to
mapmaker.google.com
and start mapping.
Posted by Jori Pearsall, Geo Marketing Manager
The Government is blogging
Friday, December 12, 2008
A few days ago, the Australian Government embarked on an e-government initiative - online policy consultation to "improve the processes for e-democracy in Australia". The Government has announced an online consultation on the future of Australia's digital economy through the
Digital Economy Blog
.
We think it's great that the Australian Government is taking steps to engage online with all Australians in an open, interactive way. Online consultation and blogging is something that Australian users and businesses have been doing for a while and it's good to see the Government getting in on the act.
We recently
posted to the blog
in response to the Open Access to Public Sector Information topic, setting out our views on the types of public sector information that should be made available.
In addition, we're pleased that the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy's
YouTube channel
also showcases some videos of the Minister's addresses to the Digital Economy Forum earlier this year. There's a whole range of politicians using channels like YouTube to communicate with Australians - including the
Prime Minister
, the
Premier of Victoria
, the
Leader of the Opposition
to name just a few.
Check out the Digital Economy Blog and have your say.
Posted by Carolyn Dalton, Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs
Street View now in New Zealand
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Heading to New Zealand over the summer holidays? Planning your trip just got easier with the launch today of
Street View in New Zealand
.
Covering most of the country, including all major CBDs and many remote wilderness locations, Street View showcases spectacular New Zealand destinations from within Google Maps. Just like
Street View in Australia
, it allows you to view and navigate 360 degree imagery of New Zealand's streets and towns, and lets you pan and zoom to change your viewpoint.
You can use it to check out restaurants before you make your booking, preview your beach front accommodation, or just enjoy the geography of the country's sub-tropical north or mountainous south.
View Larger Map
New Zealand becomes the seventh country in the world to get Street View - it's also available in Spain, France, Italy, the US, Japan, and of course Australia.
Tourism New Zealand has selected a
gallery of Street View images
, that highlight some of New Zealand's best tourist attractions and locations to the world, including Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, and the historic Stone Store in Kerikeri. As Tourism NZ chief executive George Hickton puts it, the more that visitors research their holiday before they come, the more enjoyable an experience they have.
If you're heading over the ditch to visit relatives for Christmas, or for a getaway later next year, take a look around with Street View before you leave and really get the most out of your trip.
Posted by Andrew Foster, Product Manager
Transit directions for Adelaide in Google Maps
Monday, December 1, 2008
Getting from Victoria Square to Upper Sturt Park via public transport in Adelaide just got easier, with the launch of transit directions for the city on Google Maps. Adelaide is the second Australian city to get transit directions on Google Maps, after we announced it was launching in Perth
earlier this year
.
Using information from Adelaide Metro, you can see public transport directions and timetables for Adelaide in
Google Maps
.
Want to know where the nearest bus-stop is? Planning a trip a week or two in advance? Figuring out a new commuting schedule? The transit feature on Google Maps lets you to customise your searches by specific date and time, so that you can see what's up and coming, and how to get where you need to be.
I'm looking forward to using the feature when I visit Adelaide for my friends' wedding (hi Trav and Jem!) next year. I can now guarantee I won't be late for the ceremony ...
We want to keep providing Australians with useful local tools that make their lives easier, and we're excited about working with other transit agencies to roll out transit directions on Google Maps in even more Australian cities.
Posted by Andrew Foster, Product Manager
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