Natmappers at the School of Military Survey
The staffing for National Mapping in its earliest years came largely from former Services personnel. In addition, there was a number of civilians who took the opportunity for travel that Natmap offered. However, the bulk of personnel, some with trade skills, were untrained in the techniques needed for survey and mapping work.
Natmap’s in-house and on-the-job training provided part of the solution to obtaining suitably skilled field observers. It was found however, that especially the on-the-job training slowed the work in the field as experienced personnel had to be paired with the inexperienced.
In 1954, Howard Angas Bill Johnson resigned from the Army and commenced duty as the Senior Surveyor, within National Mapping’s then Melbourne-based Geodetic Branch. Immediately prior to taking up this position to lead Natmap’s part in the national geodetic survey, Lieutenant-Colonel HA Johnson MBE (1907-1990) had been Commanding Officer and Chief Instructor (CO/CI) of the Royal Australian Survey Corps, School of Military Survey at Balcombe, Victoria.
Through Johnson’s and other’s links to the Army, Natmap arranged for some of its field survey and cartographic staff to attend the Basic Survey Course at the School of Military Survey. Although this training took the Natmap people away from the pool available for field work, on their return to duty they had a far wider range of survey knowledge and useable skills.
The following Natmappers are known to have attended Basic Survey Courses at the School of Military Survey at Balcombe, and after 1966, at Bonegilla :
|
1961 |
(Course 18/61) Bob Storey (Melbourne) and Mario Benassi (Canberra); |
|
1962 |
(Course 20/62) Rod Maruff and John Allen (both Melbourne); |
|
1963 |
(Course 22/63) Ed Burke and Bob Goldsworthy (both Melbourne) |
|
1964 |
(Course 25/64) Neil Fenton (Melbourne) and Unknown |
|
1965 |
(Course 26/65) Murray de Plater and Howard Murton (both Canberra); |
|
1966 |
(Course 29/66) John Barry and Peter May (both Canberra); |
|
1967 |
(Course 30/67) Don Girvan (Melbourne) and Bob Kennard (Canberra); |
|
1968 |
(Course 32/68) Vic Bosnic and Kevin Crane (Melbourne) |
|
1969 |
(Course 34/69) Milton Biddle (Melbourne) |
The Basic Survey Course ran for a nominal 26 weeks and covered the use of equipment such as the plane table, magnetic compass, Abney level, chain, theodolite, dumpy level, barometer, light and heliograph, communications and all associated survey recording, reductions and computations. The map compilation component of the course started with basic aerial photography geometry, and continued right through the processes of stereoscopy and stereoplotting to the finalisation of map detail.
The Course equipped students with the necessary knowledge and expertise to perform a basic topographical survey and produce a map with or without aerial photography. It was part of the training needed to qualify as an Army Topographic Surveyor Class III. Documents that give more detail on the course and its components can be viewed via this link. These documents were kindly provided by John Allen from Course 20/62 that he attended in 1962. John was apparently awarded an A pass which at that time was a very rare achievement. A photograph of John with his Natmap colleagues at Balcombe in 1962 may be viewed via this link and a photograph of Peter May at Bonegilla in 1966 is at this link.
In 1965, the need to train men for service in Vietnam, saw the Army negotiate with the Department of Immigration to take over buildings at the Bonegilla Migrant Camp near Lake Hume in north-east Victoria. Some of these buildings were used by the School of Military Survey, which established field-survey practical training areas and special astronomical observation sites as it began conducting courses in surveying. By 1966, the School of Military Survey had vacated Balcombe with future courses being conducted at Bonegilla. At this time, the then Major John Hillier and family were the only military family to live on site at Bonegilla. (Colonel NRJ Hillier (1928-2013) was Director of Military Survey from 1978 to 1983.)
Over the years, many former Royal Australian Survey Corps members went on to serve with Natmap. All such personnel would have undertaken Basic Survey Courses as part of their service with the Corps. Prior to 1966 the Course would have been undertaken at Balcombe and in later years at Bonegilla. Natmappers known to have attended the School of Military Survey at Balcombe during their time with RA Survey (as either staff members or as students) included :
Alec Pond and Bernie Snell had been Staff Warrant Officers at the School of Military Survey, Balcombe before joining Natmap. Kenneth Owen Johnson was another who came from the Army to Natmap in the early years.
Prior to joining Natmap in 1961, Kevin Moody served three years in the Royal Australian Engineers before being assigned to the seventh Basic Survey Course at Balcombe in 1955. After successfully completing the course, Kevin transferred to RA Survey serving a further three years.
Bill Hook attended the 15/59 Course (June 1959 to May 1960) later joining Natmap. Daryl Parker was another who joined Natmap from the Army in 1961. Daryl attended the Basic Survey Course that started at Balcombe in May 1960.
The Army Apprentice School was also located at Balcombe for many years. Natmap's Mick Skinner was in Balcombe's third apprentice intake and graduated as a telecommunications mechanic in 1952. Mick received his initial training in electronics, radar and telecommunications at Balcombe.
Photographs taken during the 1961 Basic Survey Course can be viewed via this link. These photographs give an insight into Course activities and also show the Balcombe camp and its surrounds as they were then.
Bob Skitch (RF Skitch, Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd)) attended the 7/55 Basic Survey Course at the School of Survey at Balcombe 6 June 1955 to 23 March 1956 (the word Military was added to the name in 1960). He has kindly provided a detailed description of the camp, its facilities and surrounds and the course and its equipment, as it was then. On this same course was Kevin Moody and John Van De Graaff who were to later join National Mapping in 1961. Alec Pond, also to later to join Natmap, was one of Bob's instructors. Bob's contribution is greatly appreciated.
From the late 1960s
through to the early 1990s ex-Army personnel joined National Mapping. As part
of their Army training all would have attended the School at either Balcombe or
Bonegilla to undertake the basic survey course. Graeme Beasley, Lindsay Clark, Jon Deane, Peter Harrup, Phil Procter, Adrian Rynberk, Kalen Sargeant, Dominic Yau and Tom Zentai are known to have joined the Melbourne office while Laurie Arnold, Graham Baker, Cheryl and Lyall Camp, Jim Clarke, James Cook, Michael Dwyer, Danny Galbraith, Don L Gray, Bill Harvey, Bill Jeffrey, Geoff Larkin, Kim Lenson, LK and TG Linz, Tony Longstaff, Noel Ticehurst and Steve Wood are known to have joined the Canberra office.
Below is a section of the 1967 SJ5509 R502 Queenscliff, 1:250,000 scale map sheet. It shows the site of the school and the surrounding terrain and locations as seen in the photographs.
Compiled by Paul Wise, 2017 with the assistance of John Allen, Bob Skitch (Lieutenant Colonel - Rtd) and Laurie McLean; updated April 2021 with the assistance of Bob Kennard, Murray de Plater, Joe McRae and Peter Jensen and his RA Survey colleagues.