National Mapping’s Indexing Systems

for Aerial Photography, Survey and Mapping Control, Terrain Profiles and Map Publication Materials

 

by Paul Wise, March 2021

 

 

Introduction

From the mid 1950s, Nat Map had a consistent indexing system for its aerial photography, survey and mapping control, and terrain profiles. The system firstly ensured that each survey station, aerial film or terrain profile was uniquely identified. In addition however, National Mapping, as a member of the National Mapping Council with the States and Defence agencies, had a responsibility for reporting any work it undertook back to the respective State in which the work was performed. Thus the indexing system also easily attributed any control station, aerial film or terrain profile to the respective State. Separate indexing systems also existed for height or vertical control and for all map publication and associated materials. This article provides some history and an explanation of National Mapping’s indexing systems.

 

 

Pre the mid 1950s

         Historical triangulation

Up until Federation in 1901 the individual Colonies happily went about their survey and mapping activities as they saw fit. Their surveys followed the European method of triangulation. Triangulation was first used in 1615 in The Netherlands. It is generally accepted that the modern systematic use of triangulation networks stems from the work of the Dutch mathematician Willebrord Snell. Willebrord Snellius, born Willebrord Snel van Royen (1580–1626) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, known in the English speaking world as Snell. Snell, however, appears to have been influenced by the earlier work of Gemma Frisius (1508-1555) and Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) dating back to the late 1500s. Subsequently, between 1733 and 1740 Jacques Cassini (1677-1756) and his son Cesar Francois Cassini de Thury (1714-1784), also called Cassini III or Cassini de Thury undertook the first triangulation of the whole of France. Their work led to the publication in 1745 of the first map of France constructed on rigorous mathematical principles. Triangulation thus became the accepted method of establishing points of known coordinates in the terrain which could be used for mapping and the accurate determination of feature locations in the terrain.

Generally high points in the terrain were chosen to form a series of triangles, hence Triangulation. The internal angles of these triangles would then be observed with optical instruments of the day. Knowing that the angles of each triangle had to equal 180 degrees allowed a check to be kept on the quality of the angle observations (over large areas the curvature of the Earth means that the angles of a triangle actually add up to more than 180 degrees but this spherical excess can be calculated so as to still maintain a check on the angular observations). To provide scale for a triangulation survey at least the side of a triangle near the start of the survey was measured and another near the end. Using the measured length of the first side of a triangle, all the sides of the triangles were then calculated and the calculated length then compared with the measured length near the end of the survey. The misclose between the measured and final calculated length then provided an overall check on the triangulation’s accuracy.

As the triangle’s vertices were located on high points, the vertices were generally named after that feature, if already known, or given a name by the survey party. All work then performed at that point would later be filed under that name. While a simple and logical system, it is not surprising then that when looking at various Colonial triangulation networks, that more than one vertex has the name One Tree Hill or Black Mountain! Nevertheless, even post Federation, the individual States and now RA Survey (Royal Australian Survey Corps and their predecessors) largely continued this same practice. As early as 1953, clause 30 of Standard Specifications for Horizontal and Vertical Control (National Mapping Council, 1953), stated that : Names for triangulation stations should have a geographic significance wherever possible. Care should be taken by the officer in charge of the survey party to ascertain the name which is most prevalent for a particular geographic feature. It is recommended that the Surveyor General of the State or Territory shall be the final authority for these names.

 

Precise Stuart Highway geodetic survey

In April 1945, Arthur Miller Surveyor General of the Northern Territory, instigated work on a precise Stuart Highway geodetic survey that was to run along the Highway from Alice Springs to Darwin; a distance of nearly 1 500 kilometres. The survey was approved by the then Commonwealth Survey Committee. The Commonwealth Survey Committee had been established in late 1935 with a view to ensuring the future coordination of surveys throughout Australia. The Committee was chaired by the Commonwealth Surveyor General, with representatives of the three Defence services (Navy, Army and Air Force). Coordination with the States was achieved through the Commonwealth Surveyor General.

While the survey itself was to be progressed by theodolite and chain, to first order standards, a system of identifying and indexing the proposed reinforced concrete posts to be placed at intervals along the survey, was required. Whatever the system adopted, the post’s identification was then to be painted on the road surface. It is not clear how the posts were placed as one report stated they were placed at every mile and at every angle but another report stated they were placed every 20 chains (quarter mile). In any case the historical triangulation method of identifying the survey posts by a unique name was totally impractical.

From the mapping and other material, the indexing system adopted was that each of the marker posts placed during the completed work on the Stuart Highway survey was identified by a single alphabetical letter prefix followed by a three digit number e.g. R602. Furthermore, the alphabetical letter was the initial letter of the relevant surveyor’s surname. Only some 600 kilometres of the survey was completed and all work ceased after 1947. The surveyors involved and their alpha prefix is listed in the following table.

 

Alpha Prefix

Surveyor

H

Lionel Cedric Arthur Hope

K

Julius Frederick Valentine Knight

R

George Robert Lindsay Rimington

T

Richard David Tidy

 

George Robert Lindsay (Rim) Rimington (1908-1992) subsequently moved to Canberra and along with Bruce Philip Lambert OBE (1912-1990) (then Deputy Director of National Mapping) in early September 1947 helped to establish the National Mapping organisation. 

 

Astrofixes for map control

A Nat Map party of 3 being GRL (Rim) Rimington, Chief Topographic Surveyor, DR (Dave) Hocking, Field Assistant (Survey) and DV (Don) McKay, Driver (Survey) left Melbourne on 3 May 1948 travelling in a Chevrolet 1 ton truck. The task of this first Nat Map field party was to carry out a program of astrofixes along with barometric height readings for photomap and subsequent map control.

In his 1985 paper, Star Tracking for Mapping - An Account of Astrofix Surveys by the Division of National Mapping During 1948-52, Dave Hocking recalled : NM H1 [H for Hocking], an astrofix, [was] the first survey point established on 13 May 1948 by the National Mapping Section as it was then known. So the survey activities of Natmap began. In fact this station was recorded first as DH1 but, because of the similarity to existing traverse stations on the Stuart Highway which included the family name initial of the surveyor who observed particular sections, for example 'H' for Hope, 'K' for Knight, 'R' for Rimington and 'T' for Tidy, it was decided to incorporate NM for National Mapping when numbering astros. Some years later the survey station numbering system was changed with the letter ‘A‘ denoting astro following NM, and another letter corresponding to the State or Territory where the astro was located, for example, NMA/G/123 for a Natmap astro in the Northern Territory.

 

Figure 1 : Details of NM H1, the first Nat Map astrofix.

 

The record at Figure 1 above, shows that astrofix NM H1 was at the then Frewena Roadhouse (now only a rest stop) on the Barkly Highway. Frewena was some 660 kilometres by road from Alice Springs travelling north up the Stuart Highway then along the Barkly. North of Alice Springs, in passing, Rimington would have no doubt been interested in his previous survey activity along the road. At or around this time a discussion of the indexing system he used, and was later recalled by Dave above, probably occurred. In the period 1948-1952 the following table (Hocking, 1985) shows the indexing of the astrofixes and the name of the person whose initial is prefixed to the astrofix identifier (Foster’s astrofixes have the prefix X so as to avoid confusion with the astrofixes of Ford).

 

Nat Map Astrofixes 1948-1952

1948 Barkly Tableland N.T. - Qld, Gulf, Victoria River Districts and Tennant Creek Area

NMH1 - H66

D.R. Hocking

Field Assistant (Survey)

1949 Broken Hill Area

NMH67- H74

D.R. Hocking

Survey Computer

1949 Barkly Tableland, Gulf District and Harts Range Area

NMH75 - H109

D.R. Hocking

Survey Computer OIC Field Operations

NMC1 - C39

E.J. Caspers

Field Assistant (Survey) Party Leader

1950 Ord-Victoria River Area N.T. and Kimberly District W.A.

NMH110 - H133

D.R. Hocking

Survey Computer OIC Field Operations

NML1 - L9

P.H. Lennie

Field Assistant (Survey)

NMC40 - C68

E.J. Caspers

Field Assistant (Survey) Party Leader

NMF1

R.A. Ford

Field Assistant (Survey)

1951 Alice Springs District

NMH134 - H163

D.R. Hocking

Surveyor Grade 2 (Acting) OIC Field Operations

NML10 - L39

P.H. Lennie

Field Assistant (Survey) Party Leader

NMC69 - C99                               

E.J. Caspers

Field Assistant (Survey) Party Leader

NMF2 - F35

R.A. Ford

Field Assistant (Survey) Party Leader     

1950-51 Roma, Mitchell and SW Queensland

NMA1 - A47

F.J. Arnold

Surveyor (Canberra)

1952 Leigh Creek, Oodnadatta and Longreach

Aerodrome Approach Charts: Birdsville, Lake Eyre and SW Queensland Channel Country

NMH164 - H179

D.R. Hocking

Surveyor Grade 2 (Acting) OIC Field Operations

NMM1 – M2

F.J. McCoy

Field Assistant

NML40 – L58

P.H. Lennie

Field Assistant (Survey) Party Leader                 

NMC100 – C121

E.J. Caspers

Field Assistant (Survey) Party Leader                 

NMX1 – X8

R.G. Foster

Draftsman (Photogr)

NMF36 – F54

R.A. Ford

Field Assistant (Survey) Party Leader                 

NMD1 – D10

W.J. Dingeldei

Field Assistant

 

        

Figure 2  : (left) Blazed tree indicating the location of Dave Hocking’s astrofix before the A for Astrofix was introduced;

(right) 1961 Terry Douglas' first astrofix blaze under Ted Seton, Tanami NT, after A for Astrofix introduced.

 

As the astrofix program accelerated to provide control for the R502, 1: 250 000 scale mapping program, astrofix survey control was established by RA Survey and each of the State mapping agencies. The following organisations also contributed :

 

Australian Gulf Oil Company Ltd      

Delhi Australia Petroleum Pty Ltd     

Department of the Interior (DOI)

Hydrographic Office, Royal Australian Navy       

Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority

Victorian Country Roads Board

Weapons Research Establishment, Department of Supply    

Western Australia Petroleum (WAPET)               

 

By now however, the astrofix indexing system was more generic and who observed what astrofixes was no longer decipherable from the relevant identifier.

 

 

Commonwealth of Australia aerial photography

Commonwealth Survey Committee, Resolution 75 of 29 May 1953, recommended : That the Minister for the Interior be asked to seek Cabinet approval to the continuation of aerial photography by the RAAF [Royal Australian Air Force], and to the provision during 1953-54 of £162 000 to cover the cost thereof. The somewhat unexpected result was that the Department of the Interior was authorised to finalise any aerial photography currently being flown by the Air Force and to negotiate contracts with commercial aerial survey companies for any further aerial photography required by Departments. The sum to be provided annually for the next three years for aerial photography was not to be more than £120 000. With this change, the capture of aerial photography by the Air Force, which had been continuous since 1945, ceased.

 

Figure 3 : Aerial photography flight line diagram showing the acquisition date of CAB1.

 

The task of administering the aerial photography contract process within the Department of the Interior fell to the then National Mapping Section (Nat Map’s predecessor). The government’s decision now also saw various State mapping agencies bypassing the National Mapping Council and contracting their own aerial photography. It was also about this time that the National Mapping Council adopted Resolution 83 (1950) - Aerial Film Numbering :

The Council recommends that each State adopt a specific system of identification of aerial film rolls consisting of a series of letters which shall identity the particular State followed by a serial number which shall be the filing index number of the film container. The letters and numbers together to provide the film roll number called for in Special Publication 4 - Standard Specifications for Black and White Vertical Aerial Photography for Line Map Production. (1985)

The first Commonwealth aerial photography contracts were let to the aerial survey companies of Brown and Dureau and Adastra. In the 1953/54 financial year, the sum of £85 000 was spent on Commonwealth aerial photography contracts in New Guinea and Australia. Additionally a contribution of £12 900 was made to the State mapping agencies for aerial photography of areas not covered by the Commonwealth program. Records show (Figure 3 above) that the first film acquired under the new contracting arrangements was across the Charleville 1: 250 000 scale map sheet in December 1954. This film was indexed as CAB 1; CA for Commonwealth of Australia; B indicating Queensland as the State where the work was performed; 1 being for the first film.

The aerial photography, Commonwealth of Australia prefixes for the relevant States or Territories are listed below :

 

STATE / REGION

MONOCHROME

COLOUR

PRE NAT MAP (*)

 

 

National

SVY

Not applicable

National

MAP

Not applicable

Antarctica

ANT

Not applicable

NAT MAP ERA

 

 

Queensland

CAB

CABC

New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Lord Howe Island

CAC

CACC

Victoria

CAD

CADC

South Australia

CAE

CAEC

Western Australia

CAF

CAFC

Northern Territory

CAG

CAGC

Tasmania

CAH

CAHC

Island Territories (Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island)

CAI

CAIC

Papua New Guinea

CAJ

CAJC

Southern Ocean & Antarctic Region

CAS

CASC

Note (*) : The prefixes SVY, MAP and ANT were used between 1945 and 1953 to index aerial photography films exposed by the Royal Australian Air Force, for civilian use.

General note : When aerial photography was acquired along or across State borders then the prefix included both State codes; for example CAFGC would indicate a colour film acquired over both the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Six monochrome films have the prefix CABEG meaning they were acquired over Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

 

 

 

Commonwealth of Australia terrestrial photography

The introduction of Aerodist in 1963 enabled a network of ground survey stations for mapping control to be coordinated. The adoption of this technology led to a proliferation of field parties establishing the ground stations before the airborne measuring was undertaken. In the three year period 1967-1969 private sector survey contractors were also used to establish the Aerodist stations. To ensure the Aerodist ground stations met a consistent standard in 1965 Nat Map distributed Instruction 1 : Aerodist Reconnaissance, Station Marking and Associated Ground Surveys.

The instruction required :  A full 360° view to be exposed from the Aerodist station, the camera being held by the photographer on top of the truck-cabin platform where possible. A photo, or more if necessary, should be taken of the station itself, to clearly show the station number. Any photography should be made to help identify the station or illustrate any useful information. The films, generally 35mm monochrome, containing this terrestrial photography were indexed with the prefix CAT; CA for Commonwealth of Australia; T for Terrestrial. Prior to leaving for the field, each party leader would be issued with a series of numbers, one to be allocated to each CAT film following exposure. Detailed information as to Commonwealth of Australia terrestrial photography (CAT) indexing, is unknown.

 

 

Nat Map’s Survey and Mapping Control Indexing System

Until 1954 National Mapping did not have the resources to commence geodetic triangulation in its own right. A triangulation scheme in the area around Broken Hill and the Barrier Range, now needed to be given priority to meet the Bureau of Mineral Resources mapping requirements.

At that time the Broken Hill area was isolated from any existing triangulation chains; the two nearest schemes being the RA Survey primary triangulation in the Peterborough - Orroroo - Carrieton area of South Australia and the New South Wales Lands Department triangulation near Cobar. Back in 1948 the then Deputy Director of National Mapping, Bruce Lambert, saw a demonstration of the Geodimeter the first distance measuring equipment which could provide electronic distance measurements of a suitable accuracy for geodetic survey. National Mapping had placed an order for a Geodimeter in 1953 and the equipment was expected by mid 1954. If the Geodimeter proved itself triangulation could be accelerated and thus the Broken Hill work was designed to take advantage of the Geodimeter’s capability.

The Geodimeter proved its worth so that by 1957 Nat Map had a triangulation network from Broken Hill west to Carrieton where the network turned north through South Australia and to Alice Springs then on to Aileron to around Wauchope. A further 10 kilometres to the north of Wauchope was the triangulation station on Devils Marbles; this would be the last of the triangulation stations.

Nat Map was now visioning carrying triangulation over the northern and western plains and deserts using many short lines and thus requiring many more triangle sides having to be measured with the Geodimeter. With the success of the Geodimeter however, Nat Map had had no hesitation in acquiring the newly released Tellurometer. In July 1957, the first Tellurometer was tested in Australia. The Tellurometer was lighter, more portable, less complex to use and was able to measure longer distances than the Geodimeter. With appropriate operating procedures distances accurate to first order standards could now be measured. It was now possible to make a theodolite and Tellurometer traverse from point to point. If these traverses closed on themselves or other first order work the equivalent of triangulation was achieved with far less effort. Traversing with the Tellurometer saw the end of triangulation.

With the adoption of Tellurometer traversing in 1957, a further issue arose. Ford (1979) recalled : As it would be impossible to name all [Tellurometer] traverse stations a system of numbering was to be introduced; it would incorporate NM for National Mapping, a letter indicating the State (same as for Aerial Photography) and a serial number. Thus NM/G/1 would indicate this was the first National Mapping station in the Northern Territory. The adoption of this system did not preclude the continued use of the feature’s name, if applicable. It is therefore not uncommon after 1957 for a significant number of mainly first order traverse stations to have both a name and alphanumeric prefix. The Nat Map format was NM/G/1 although sometimes the modern format with reduced characters is seen as NMG 1.

The survey and mapping control index codes for the relevant States or Territories are listed below :.

 

STATE / REGION

PREFIX

Queensland

NM/B

New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Lord Howe Island

NM/C

Victoria

NM/D

South Australia

NM/E

Western Australia

NM/F

Northern Territory

NM/G

Tasmania

NM/H

Island Territories

NM/I

Papua New Guinea (Bismarck Archipelago included)

NM/J

Antarctic Region 1958 (#)

NM/S

Macquarie Island 1958 (#)

NM/X

Heard Island and McDonald Islands 1980 JMR Doppler (#)

NM/Y

Offshore Great Barrier Reef & Heard Island 1967 (#)

NM/OS

Recovery Marks 1962 (#)

2000 numerical series

Note (#) : First introduced around this date when later than 1957.

 

As described above (Hocking, 1985), sometime between 1953 and 1957, astrofix indexing adopted the same systematic form. The letter A denoting Astrofix was added to the NM, followed by the State or Territory identifier. Thus, NMA/G/123 now indicated a Nat Map astrofix in the Northern Territory.

 

Figure 4 : Record of survey station NM/S/1, established November 1958 on Mount Riiser-Larsen, Antarctica.

 

A 1958 agreement saw Nat Map now being responsible for the mapping of the Australian Antarctic Territory and provide suitable surveyors for field duty with Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions. The agreement between Phillip Garth Law (later Dr PG Law CBE AO AC [1912 2010]) the Director of the Australian Antarctic Division then within the Department of External Affairs and Bruce Philip Lambert (later Dr BP Lambert OBE [1912-1990]) the Director of National Mapping within the Department of National Development, was to endure for some 30 years. Thus using Nat Map’s system, Surveyor Graham Knuckey observed astrofix NMA/S/1 in February 1958 at Sheelagh Islands off Enderby Land, Antarctica, and established survey station NM/S/1 in November 1958 on Mount Riiser-Larsen (Figure 4 above refers).

 

     

Figure 5 : (Left) 1962 recovery mark NM/E/2016 (foreground white painted tripod) for NM/E/78 on sandridge; (Right) recovery mark survey connecting NM/E/2016 with NM/E/78.

 

Moving into the sandridge deserts Nat Map was concerned about the longevity of any survey station established on a sandridge. While the sandridge offered visibility, erosion might interfere with the survey station’s stability and hence later locational accuracy. Nat Map therefore specified that a Recovery Mark be established on the nearest firm ground. For clarity, the usual marks placed close to the survey station were termed Reference Marks, and those marks set on the firm ground some distance away, Recovery Marks. The establishment of a first order recovery mark involved quite a lot of work, normally 4 men for about 2 days, and needed additional equipment to that which was usually carried. Given the effort involved, it is disappointing now looking back some 50 years that locations where recovery marks and their adjacent survey station can be accessed that the recovery mark has totally disappeared while the survey station remains largely firmly fixed and intact!

When a recovery mark was established it too was uniquely indexed. To avoid any confusion between a series of traverse stations and their adjacent recovery marks the 2000 numerical series was introduced. When first used in 1962 in Western Australia on the Callawa-Well 35 Tellurometer traverse, first order station NM/F/166 was connected to its nearby recovery mark NM/F/2051. Other examples are NM/E/2016, the recovery mark for NM/E/78 established in 1962 and in 1966, NM/F/2001 was the recovery mark for NM/F/90.

 

 

Nat Map’s Airborne Terrain Profiling Indexing System

Airborne terrain profiles provided Nat Map with the necessary height data for its photogrammetric mapping programs. Between 1962 and 1973, it is understood that Nat Map let some nine separate contracts to Adastra to provide terrain profiles over specific blocks of 1: 250 000 scale map sheets. Adastra Airways, an Australian pioneer in the commercial aerial photography market, had earlier procured a Canadian Applied Research Limited (CARL), Mark V, airborne profile recorder (APR) and installed it in a Lockheed Hudson aircraft. The CARL APR or just APR operated by generating and receiving radar pulses to establish the terrain clearance while in flight. Later these data were reduced to actual terrain heights on the Australian Height Datum (AHD).

When an APR contract was let, Nat Map supplied Adastra with a series of 4 digit line numbers to be allocated to each terrain profile line as it was flown. The allocation of such numbers was carefully administered to ensure that no number was used more than once. At the end of the contract the Contractor had the responsibility of specifically advising on the line numbers used thus allowing unused numbers to be reallocated. As was the practice now with survey stations and aerial film numbers, the state alphabetic identifier formed part of the profile line (APR) index. For example, a Western Australia terrain profile might be identified as APR/F/2345, a Victorian terrain profile APR/D/1357 and a terrain profile along the Queensland-South Australia border as APR/BE/1789. This unique identification system later allowed the contractor supplied profile materials to be registered, stored and retrieved on demand.  

This indexing system worked so well that when Nat Map commenced operation of its Laser Terrain Profiler in 1970, the indexing of the laser terrain profiles was similarly administered. Detailed information as to Airborne Profile Recorder and Laser Terrain Profiler terrain profiles (APR) indexing, is unknown.

 

 

Nat Map’s Vertical Control Indexing System

The greater part of the third order levelling program was performed under contract through the various State Surveyor’s General. Thus the height points or bench marks established during this program were indexed as required by the individual State. Some 15% of the levelling program was previously acquired Department of the Interior levelling. The Department of the Interior identified each levelling traverse by a two letter prefix with a numerical series for each bench mark. For example DE/10 was a bench mark on a level traverse in the Northern Territory and XO/75 was a bench mark east of Neal Junction on the now named Anne Beadell Highway.

Nat Map’s system to identify bench marks was to again use the NM and add the letter V for vertical, followed by the State or Territory identifier. Thus, NMV/F/11 was a bench mark near the tide gauge at Wyndham, Western Australia.

Points where height was required for photogrammetric mapping or similar purposes could be obtained by simultaneous reciprocal vertical angles. For example NMV/F/501 was a height point on Broughton Island, Archipelago of The Recherche, off Esperance Western Australia. Detailed information as to vertical height point (NMV) indexing, is unknown.

 

 

Nat Map’s Map Publication Materials Indexing System

The National Topographic Mapping Series (NTMS) consisted of over 3000 1: 100 000 scale map sheets. The generation of each map sheet relied of the preparation of a series of intermediate materials. Each map colour had its own compilation sheet being black, blue, brown, green & red for cultural, water, contours, vegetation and roads as a minimum, prepared in Dandenong. In Canberra, these sheets were then used in the preparation of printing plates. The materials in this stage were known as repromat (reproduction material). The number of sheets of material for a single map sheet was now increased to around ten.

 

Given that some two years was needed to make a single map, at any one time when the program was in full swing meant there was some 20 000 sheets of various map making materials in existence, and growing. This material was also spread between Planning and Information Services and Series Mapping in Canberra and Technical Services and the four Compilation Project Teams in Dandenong. A missing piece of material took some finding.

 

In 1984, PISCS (Planning Information System Coordinating Software) was developed in-house for the HP 1000 computer in Canberra. The Dandenong office, accessed the HP via a dialup modem.

 

Initially each piece of material was given a unique, computer generated sequence number based on the 1: 100 000 map sheet to which it belonged, the name of the compilation sheet i.e. contours, vegetation, roads etc, it's material i.e. stable base, film, etc. The computer then generated the sequence number as part of a label which was then affixed to that sheet of material. As part of that process the computer was also told where the material now resided.

 

Various programs could then search for information about a sheet or sheets and when material was moved within or between offices that information was logged.

 

It is understood that some 50 000 separate pieces of mapping related material was indexed by the system towards the close of the NTMS program in the late 1980s.

 

 

 

Summaries of the Indexing of Commonwealth of Australia Aerial Photography and Nat Map’s Survey and Mapping Control

The following table lists the films acquired under each index. This table only relates to films with a 23cm x 23cm frame format. Nat Map also acquired Spot and Supplementary photography with 70mm frame format film (spot photography was undertaken to obtain vertical or oblique images of survey and mapping control stations or height control bench marks; 70mm format supplementary photography was flown where small areas of complex change had occurred so that this information could be accurately transferred to the respective map). The 70mm format films were indexed using the same index as the 23cm format films, but detailed information is unknown.

 

Commonwealth of Australia Aerial Photography (23cm frame format)

Era

Coverage

Prefix

Total Films

1945-1954

National

MAP

4389

National

SVY

1587

National

ANT

282

South Australia

CAE

67

 

 

 

 

1954-1988

Queensland

CAB

823

CABC

224

CABEG

6

CABG

29

CABGC

7

New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Lord Howe Island

CAC

433

CACC

30

CACB

5

CACD

61

CACDC

2

CACDE

1

CACE

2

Victoria

CAD

129

CADC

20

CADE

3

CADHC

2

 

South Australia

CAE

0 (#)

Western Australia

CAF

707

CAFG

23

CAFGC

1

Northern Territory

CAG

593

CAGC

192

CAGF

2

Tasmania

CAH

0 (#)

Island Territories (Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island)

CAI

2

CAIC

5

Papua New Guinea

CAJ

0 (*)

Southern Ocean & Antarctic Region

CAS

90

CASC

38

Note (#) : Nil South Australian or Tasmanian acquisitions.

Note (*) : Films given to PNG at independence.

 

The following table lists the survey and mapping control stations under each index.

 

NATIONAL MAPPING SURVEY AND MAPPING CONTROL

Era

Coverage

Prefix

Astrofix

Triangulation

Traversing (*)

Aerodist

Other

1948-1988

Queensland

NMA/B

(#)

 

 

NM/B

NA

($)

139

140

126

 

 

NM/B/2XXX

NA

 

2

 

 

New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory

NMA/C

(#)

 

 

NM/C

NA

($)

0

51

35

 

 

NM/C/2XXX

NA

 

3

 

 

Victoria

NMA/D

(#)

 

 

NM/D

NA

($)

0

15

35

 

South Australia

NMA/E

(#)

 

 

 

 

 

 

NM/E

NA

($)

56

0

17

 

 

NM/E/2XXX

NA

 

20

 

 

Western Australia

NMA/F

(#)

 

 

NM/F

NA

($)

271

126

378

 

 

NM/F/2XXX

NA

 

77

 

 

Northern Territory

NMA/G

(#)

 

 

NM/G

NA

($)

169

112

21

 

 

NM/G/2XXX

NA

 

3

 

 

Tasmania

NM/H

Nil by Nat Map

Island Territories

NM/I

Nil by Nat Map

Papua New Guinea

NM/J

(@)

 

Macquarie Island

NM/X

NA

NA

0

0

13

 

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

NM/Y

NA

NA

0

0

5

 

Offshore Great Barrier Reef & Heard Island

NM/OS

NA

NA

0

27

23

Total

 

 

2540

316

635 (!)

471

653

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1958-1988

Antarctic Region

NMA/S/

135

 

NM/S/

NA

0

598

0

0

Total

 

 

135

0

598

0

0

Note (#) : Only total of astrofixes used for mapping available.

Note ($) : First order triangulation names only, so only total available.

Note (*)  : First order traversing only except in Antarctica where all survey control is included.

Note (!) : Total does not include 2000 series recovery marks.

Note (@) : At independence all survey and mapping data held by Nat Map was given to PNG; as far as can be established this included information

on geodetic stations NM/J/1-30; in 1973 and 1975 Nat Map undertook crustal movement surveys which resulted in the establishment of stations

NM/J/31-36 and NM/J/37-43 respectively.

 

 

Closing remarks

Following the formation of the Australian Surveying and Land Information Group, as of 1 July 1988, irrespective of location, survey control was now indexed with the prefix AU, aerial photography films were now indexed with the prefix AUS (monochrome) or AUSC (colour).

 

 

Sources

Ford, Reginald Arthur (1979), The Division of National Mapping’s part in the Geodetic Survey of Australia, The Australian Surveyor, Vol.29, No.6, pp.375-427; Vol.29, No.7, pp.465-536; Vol.29, No.8, pp.581-638.

 

Hocking, David Roy (1985), Star Tracking for Mapping - An Account of Astrofix Surveys by the Division of National Mapping During 1948-52, Proceedings 27th Australian Survey Congress, Alice Springs, Paper 3, pp.13-26.

 

Inter-Governmental Advisory Committee on Surveying and Mapping (1988), Summarised operative resolutions and agreements of the former National Mapping Council.

 

Lines, John Dunstan (1992), Australia on Paper–The Story of Australian Mapping, Fortune Publications, Box Hill.

 

McLean, Lawrence William (2018), Commander D’A T Gale DSC RAN (1911-1973), accessed at : http://xnatmap.org/adnm/people/aabout/DATGale.htm

 

McLean, Lawrence William (2019), George Robert Lindsay Rimington (1908-1992), accessed at : http://xnatmap.org/adnm/people/aabout/Rimington/GRL%20Rimington.htm

 

McLean, Lawrence William (2020), personal communications.

 

National Mapping Council of Australia (1953), Standard Specifications for Horizontal and Vertical Control, National Mapping Office, NMO/53/11.2.

 

National Mapping Council of Australia (1953), Standard Specifications for Black and White Vertical Air Photography for Line Map Production, Special Publication 4.

 

Nat Map News (1984), PISCS : Planning Information System Coordinating Software, Dandenong Staff Newsletter No.49.