Edward John Rollo (1944-1997)

 

About The Bear

 

By Laurie McLean

 

prepared November 2018; updated October 2020

 

Ted Rollo in August 1987 (Oz Ertok image).

 

Ted Rollo made a significant contribution to Australia’s post-World War II topographic mapping initiatives during a 30-year career with the Division of National Mapping at its Melbourne and Dandenong offices.  Ted commenced duty in Nat Map’s Rialto Building office at 497 Collins Street Melbourne in early 1967.  On 31 July 1996, Ted retired from the then Australian Surveying and Land Information Group’s Ellery House office at 280 Thomas Street Dandenong some 17 months before that office closed on 22 December 1997.

 

Ted was a quietly spoken man with a mild-mannered disposition who was seldom flustered even in the more trying of circumstances and was invariably even‑tempered.  Ted was talented, ever-reliable, diligent and hard working.  By nature a quiet and competent achiever, Ted was never a self-promoter.  Ted was well liked and respected by all Nat Mappers who knew him or worked with him over the years.  Ted Rollo was a personal friend of the author.

 

From early in his Nat Map career Ted was affectionately known as the Bear, Ted Bear or Mr Bear.

 

Formally educated to Intermediate Certificate (Year 10) level, Ted could turn his thoughts and hands to any technical task assigned to him.  Despite lacking formal drafting training, Ted had an excellent drafting hand that was often called upon from his early Aerodist days at the Rialto.  Here Ted was often asked to prepare final copies of diagrams on National Mapping Council station summaries.  Occasionally Ted prepared high quality drawings of Nat Map technical equipment including detailed three-dimensional (isometric) views.

 

Ted started at Nat Map as a field assistant (1967) and progressed to technical assistant grade 2 (1969) and finally to technical officer (surveying) grade 1 (1973).

 

During his ten years based at the Rialto Ted was involved extensively in field survey operations in remote areas of Australia and spent around half or more of most years away from the office.  Within a year or so after moving to Ellery House in 1977, Ted was mainly engaged in topographic map compilation work and undertook few field assignments.

 

Personal interests

Ted Rollo had a diverse range of personal interests that included photography, popular and classical music, comedy, literature, objets d'art, motoring and motor-cycling, overseas travel and even skydiving.

 

From the late 1960s at least, Ted was the owner and user of single-lens reflex cameras.  This was in the era where such cameras still used 35mm format film.  From around the early 1970s Ted owned both an Ashi Pentax and a Nikon SLR camera.  Ted used the skill he developed operating small-format cameras in Nat Map where he undertook numerous spot photography tasks as camera operator.

 

In the early 1970s Ted was a subscriber to The Folio Society, a London-based publisher that produced high-quality illustrated hardback editions of classic fiction and non-fiction books.  From this and other sources, Ted purchased works by Aldous Huxley, HG Wells, George Orwell and other authors.

 

In the early 1970s Ted undertook several successful skydiving jumps with a Pakenham-based skydiving club and apparently found the sport to be invigorating.

 

Some of Ted’s motor vehicles

From at least the early 1970s Ted was a keen motor cyclist and would usually commute to the Rialto Building from his family’s South Oakleigh home on his twin‑cylinder Yamaha motor cycle.  By the 1980s Ted had moved on to Harley Davidson motor cycles and at various times owned a number of machines of this brand.  On a trip to the United States in August-September 1985, Ted visited the Harley Davidson assembly facility in York Pennsylvania to take delivery of a machine he had ordered.  It was a Harley Davidson FLHTC Electra Glide Classic that Ted then used to tour the eastern United States for a few weeks before shipping the machine to Melbourne.

 

A 1985 Harley Davidson FLHTC Electra Glide Classic similar to the machine Ted Rollo collected in York, Pennsylvania.

Image from OnlyMotorbikes.com website.

 

In the 1970s Ted had changing preferences as to his motor car transport.  After the end of the1972 field season Ted purchased a HQ model Holden Monaro two-door coupe in LS (Luxury Sport) trim grade.  Ted’s Monaro was powered by a 4.1 litre (253 cubic inch) V8 petrol engine with a 3-speed automatic transmission and had green duco and a black vinyl roof.

 

An oil embargo by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries in late 1973 saw world crude oil prices increase fourfold.  Thus Ted kept the Monaro for only a few years and by about 1975 had replaced it with a much smaller vehicle: a three-door Honda Civic; the first generation of this vehicle.  Ted’s grey duco Civic was powered by a 4-cylinder engine of about 1200 cc capacity and had a 4-speed manual transmission.

 

A 1972 HQ Holden Monaro LS similar to the vehicle owned by Ted Rollo.

Image from General Motors brochure.

 

A circa 1975 Honda Civic similar to the vehicle owned by Ted Rollo.

Image from wheelsage.org webpage.

 

Other personal interests

Ted had a well developed taste for comedy, generally of the British genre.  He was a fan of the Monty Python television series and later spin-off films featuring the actors John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman and Terry Gilliam.  Ted was also a fan of British comedians Alexei Sayle and Rowan Atkinson.  Ted also watched Grahame Bond’s ABC television comedy series of the early 1970s The Aunty Jack Show.

 

Ted was a moderate drinker; usually of wines or spirits.  In the mid-1970s Ted was particularly partial to Coriole grenache rosé produced by the Lloyd family at their McLaren Vale vineyard.  A rare exception to Ted’s moderate consumption of alcohol was a heavy tequila session at the Commercial Hotel in Longreach in October 1970.  The session is still remembered by many of the Nat Mappers who were present that evening.

 

Overseas travel

From his early days with Nat Map Ted developed a taste for international travel that was to endure throughout his Nat Map career.  At the end of 1969 field season (or possibly early in 1970) Ted took a holiday in Fiji for a few weeks.  As well as exploring the Fiji countryside, Ted purchased a number of duty-fee items including a single lens reflex camera and a then state-of-the-art Akai multi-band radio and cassette recorder with a wireless microphone.  Ted later sold the Akai to the author.

 

By the mid-1980s at least, Ted undertook almost annual overseas trips of around one month duration.  Most of these trips were to the United States.

 

As mentioned earlier, in August-September 1985 Ted toured the eastern United States after taking delivery of a pre-ordered Harley Davidson motor cycle at York, Pennsylvania about 120 kilometres north of Washington DC.

 

Between 20 August and 16 September 1986 after a stopover in Hawaii Ted travelled from Los Angeles to San Francisco, on to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and then through Utah to Colorado.  Ted’s detailed report of this trip is provided in Appendix A.

 

From entries in The Natmap News Ted is known to have again travelled to the United States in 1987 and 1990.  In 1992 Ted travelled to Germany and Austria and then spent three weeks in the United States before returning to Nat Map in September of that year.

 

Best man 1974

In December 1974 Ted Rollo kindly officiated as best man at the author’s wedding.  Carol and Laurie McLean were married at St Thomas’s Church Blackburn in mid-December 1974.

 

Returning to education 1977-1978

In January 1977 Ted together with Carol and Laurie McLean attended a 5-day course on returning to education.  The course was conducted by renowned educator and author Hazel Edwards at the Council of Adult Education in Flinders Street Melbourne.

 

Later in 1977 Ted, Carol and Laurie enrolled in higher school certificate (Year 12) subjects at evening classes conducted at the then Springvale High School.  The three students studied English under Gordon Pynt and Geography under Owen Wells.  By arrangement, when Ted and Laurie undertook field survey duties further into the 1977 school year, Carol continued attending the classes and mailed her notes, other resource material, and required course assignments to the two absentees.  All three students sat and passed the two subjects at the 3-hour external higher school examinations at the end of the school year.

 

Ted, Carol and Laurie again undertook higher school subjects at Springvale in 1978.  However, each of the students chose different subjects.  In Ted’s case it was Environmental Science but he discontinued this subject later in the year.

 

About Ted’s family and his early life

Edward John Rollo was born in Victoria on 9 July 1944.  He was the first of the two children born to Edward Clements Rollo (1920-1977) and his wife Gwenthleon Rollo née Davis (1922–1972).  Ted’s parents married in Victoria in 1943.  Ted’s younger sibling was his sister Lorraine.

 

Gwen Rollo (Ted’s mother) was born in Melbourne, Victoria on 6 April 1922.  Gwen was the first of the three children born to John Charles Davis (1891‑1975) and his wife Ethel May Davis, formerly Lowrie, née Davies (1894–1973).  Gwen’s younger siblings were her brother John (Jack) Kennerley Davis (1925–2004) and her sister known as Joan but for whom no other details could be found during research for this article.

 

Gwen Davis also had an older half-sister Ethel Mary Livene Lowrie (1917‑1998).  Ethel Mary Levine was the only child from her mother’s 1916 marriage in the United Kingdom to George Lowrie who was killed in France on 8 June 1917 during World War I.  Ethel Mary Levine was born in 1917 at Blaina, between Abertillery and Brynmawr, in Monmouthshire, South Wales UK.

 

In 1947, Ethel Mary Livene Lowrie married John Maurice Stephen Dalton (1908–1957) at the Melbourne registry office.  In 1972 Ethel Mary Levine Dalton married William (Bill) Henry Hirt at St Luke's Church of England, Vermont, Victoria; he was born in 1913.

 

Maternal grandparents

Ted Rollo’s maternal grandfather John Charles Davis was born on 8 November 1891 at Hotham West (now known as North Melbourne).  John’s father was Samuel Davis, an engineer and John’s mother was Mary Jane née Raymond.  John Davis died at age 81 years of age at Cheltenham on 22 September 1975 and his remains were cremated at Springvale Cemetery and scattered there.

 

Ted Rollo’s maternal grandmother Ethel May Davis was born in Monmouthshire, South Wales on 10 August 1894.  Her father was David Davies, a miner and her mother was Mary Goldsworthy.  Ethel Davis died at age 78 years on 2 June 1973 at Prince Henry’s Hospital Melbourne.  On 5 June 1973, Ethel’s remains were cremated at the Springvale Cemetery and scattered there.

 

John Charles Davis and Ethel May Lowrie married at the Melbourne registry office on 14 February 1921.  John was then a 29-year old advertising agent who resided at 24 Purcell Street North Melbourne.  Ethel was then 26 years of age and resided in Tooronga Road Hawthorn and was engaged in home duties.

 

From electoral rolls, John and Ethel Davis resided at 63 Curzon Street, North Melbourne in 1931 with John employed as an agent and Ethel in home duties.  From rolls for both 1937 and 1954, John and Ethel Davis resided at 118 Dryburgh Street Newmarket.  Again on these rolls John was listed as an agent and Ethel as home duties.  From electoral rolls for 1967 and 1972, John and Ethel Davis resided at 102 Centre Dandenong Road Cheltenham, with John having no listed occupation and Ethel engaged in home duties.

 

Maternal grandfather’s World War I service

Ted’s maternal grandfather John Charles Davis enlisted with the Veterinary Section of the Australian Imperial Force in Melbourne on 2 February 1915; his Army number was 592.  John Davis arrived in Egypt on 23 February 1916 and rose through the ranks to become a Sergeant in the 7th Mobile Veterinary Section.  This Section had a nominal establishment of 1 officer and 28 other ranks.  It was formed in Egypt in March 1916 to support the 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigade in the ANZAC Mounted Division.  The 7th Mobile Veterinary Section served in Egypt, Sinai, and Palestine.

 

On 19 April 1917 the then Corporal John Davis suffered a bomb wound to the head at Belah.  After hospitalisation, Corporal Davis returned to his unit on 1 May 1917.  (Today Deir El Belah is in Palestine about 16 kilometres east of the Egyptian border and 20 kilometres south-west of Gaza.)

 

Between 26 May and 26 August 1919, Sergeant Davis attended a course at the Pittmans School at 54 Southampton Row London.  He embarked at London on HMNZT Devon for return to Australia on 8 October 1919.  Sergeant Davis disembarked at Melbourne on 27 November 1919 and was discharged from the AIF on 1 December 1919.

 

John Davis’s younger brother (Ted’s great uncle) Gordon Edgerton Davis (1893-1914) was killed at Gallipoli in April 1915.  Private Gordon Davis, Regimental No 575, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 1 October 1914.  He served with the 14th Battalion in the 4th Brigade which was commanded by the then Colonel John Monash.  Private Davis departed Melbourne onboard HMAT A38 Ulysses on 22 December 1914 and arrived in Egypt on 31 January 1915.  With the 4th Brigade he landed at ANZAC Cove on the afternoon of 25 April 1915.

 

On 30 April 1915, Private Davis died on board the SS Derflinger from a gunshot wound to his right thigh received in action at Gallipoli.  Private Davis’s remains were buried at sea while the Derflinger was en route from Gallipoli to Alexandria.  Later renamed HMT Huntsgreen, the Derflinger was a German merchant vessel captured at Port Said and used as a hospital ship and troop transport between Gallipoli and Alexandria.

 

Paternal grandparents

Ted’s father Edward Clements Rollo was born at Warrnambool on 23 May 1920.  He was the youngest of the three children born to Thomas John Clements Rollo (1883-1944) who was born at Warracknabeal and his wife Elizabeth Jane Rollo née Bant (1887-1948).  Elizabeth Bant was born at Panmure on 19 July 1887.

 

Thomas John Clements Rollo and Elizabeth Jane Bant married in Victoria in 1908.  Ted’s paternal grandparents Thomas John Clements Rollo and Elizabeth Jane Rollo were buried in the Panmure Cemetery.  Ted’s father Edward Clements Rollo’s two older siblings were brother Elford John Rollo (1910‑1969) and sister Elizabeth Rebecca Rollo (1912–1971).

 

On a 1943 electoral roll, Ted’s paternal grandparents Thomas and Elizabeth Rollo were listed as residing at Allansford and being occupied as a farmer and in home duties, respectively.  Also listed as residing at Allansford on the 1943 electoral roll were Ted Rollo’s father Edward Clements Rollo and his sister (Ted’s aunt) Elizabeth Rebecca Rollo; their respective occupations were listed as mechanic and home duties.  As Ted Rollo’s paternal grandparents were farmers they may have resided in the Allansford district rather than in the town itself.

 

In the early 1940s, the township of Allansford had a population of about 600 people.  Allansford is located about 9 kilometres east of the centre of Warrnambool on what is now the Princes Highway.  Allansford’s western boundary is the Hopkins River.

 

More on Ted’s parents

During World War II, Ted’s father Edward Clements Rollo served with the Royal Australian Air Force.  He enlisted in Melbourne on 11 December 1940 at age 20 years and was assigned the Service Number 19950.  Unfortunately no records could be found as to where or with which RAAF units Ted’s father served.  Edward Clements Rollo was discharged from the RAAF on 19 November 1944.  At that time he held the rank of Leading Aircraftman and was posted to the No 1 Personnel Depot; which was then located at RAAF Station Ransford (which was then at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Jolimont but in 1945 moved to the Exhibition Building in Carlton).

 

On a 1949 electoral roll Ted’s parents Edward Clements Rollo and Gwenthleon Rollo were listed as residing at 30 Whitehall Street Footscray South.  On that roll their listed occupations were proprietor and proprietress.  However, the nature of their business venture was not given.  Around this time Ted would have been 5 years old.

Ted’s parents were next listed on an electoral roll in 1954 and were residing at 26 Patricia Street South Oakleigh.  Their occupations were listed as fitter and home duties.  In November 1967 Ted’s father was appointed as a plant inspector with the Commonwealth Department of Works.

 

Patricia Street was Ted’s family home until around 1976 when he purchased his own home at 6 Hillview Avenue Rowville.  No 6 Hillview Avenue was to be Ted Rollo’s final place of residence.  Ted lived there with partner Jeff (Gunter) until Ted’s untimely death in 1997.

 

A recent image of the Rollo family home at 26 Patricia Street South Oakleigh.

Google street view image 2016.

 

A recent image of Ted Rollo’s home at 6 Hillview Avenue Rowville.

Google street view image 2016.

 

Prior to joining the Division of National Mapping as a field assistant in 1967, Ted had been employed as a clerk with an insurance company.  Clerk was his listed occupation on electoral rolls in 1967, 1968 and 1972 when still residing at Patricia Street.  On the 1972 roll Ted’s sister, Lorraine Rollo, was also listed as residing at Patricia Street and being occupied as a ledger keeper.

 

Ted’s mother Gwenthleon Rollo died from cancer in June 1972; she was about 50 years of age.  Gwen’s remains were cremated at Springvale Cemetery on 16 June 1972.  Ted’s father Edward Clements Rollo died from cancer at South Oakleigh on 7 March 1977 at age 56 years.  EC Rollo’s remains were cremated at Springvale Cemetery on 9 March 1977 and his ashes were scattered.

 

Technical Assistant Grade 2 1970

Ted’s formal appointment as a technical assistant grade 2 (a Fourth Division position) was promulgated in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 10 September 1970.  However, this Gazette notice only formalised the position in which Ted had been working since commencing with Aerodist in 1969.

 

1973 eligibility test and Technical Officer promotion

In late 1972 Ted Rollo together with Graeme Lawrence and Laurie Edebohls undertook a formal training course in geodetic surveying at a training area based at Oaklands in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales about 100 kilometres north west of Albury.  (Some trainee technical officers also attended.)  The course was conducted by Nat Map senior training officer Reg Ford.  Ted, Graeme and Laurie successfully completed the course.  As a consequence each was awarded a certificate from the Commonwealth Public Service Board stating the holder was eligible for promotion to positions in the technical officer (surveying) structure.

 

In May 1973, Ted was formally promoted to technical officer (surveying), grade 1 (Fourth Division) (Position No 19) in the Aerodist Subsection of the Airborne Horizontal Control Section within the Control Survey Branch. Melbourne.  This promotion was promulgated in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 3 May 1973.  In this position Ted’s formal duties were to act as a field sub-party leader; undertake second and lower order surveys involving the use of theodolites, levels and distance measuring equipment; annotate Aerodist charts and manually abstract preliminary distance values from chart in accordance with a sampling routine.

 

By the time Ted Rollo retired some 23 years later, changes and broadbanding in Commonwealth Public Service job classifications resulted in technical officer, grade 1 positions becoming known as technical officer level 3 positions.

 

Some of Ted Rollo’s field survey work with National Mapping

 

1967 field season

Ted Rollo joined the then Division of National Mapping within the Department of National Development as a field assistant in early 1967.  Ted’s first two field seasons were nominally with the Geodetic Survey Branch.  However, Ted’s 1967 field season involved tide gauge work around the Australian coastline. Initially, Ted worked with Adrian Roelse who joined the Geodetic Survey Branch as a surveyor class 1 in 1964 and transferred to Canberra after the 1966 field season work had been completed.

 

1968 field season

From April 1968 Ted was engaged in marking survey control stations for spot photography.  This target-marking work was carried out between Carnarvon and Geraldton in Western Australia and to the east of these centres.  The station marking sub‑party also included Jeff Fox, Ed Ainscow, Vic Bosnic, and H Hodge.  The spot photography was flown in an aircraft chartered from Geraldton with pilot John Walmsley.  Some 75 control stations were photographed (including some on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands).  The spot photography party comprised Reg Ford, Bob Goldsworthy and Jeff Fox.

 

Between May and September 1968, Ted was part of a helicopter supported survey party under Peter Langhorne that undertook second order traversing operations in an area extending from Shark Bay to Exmouth Gulf on the Western Australia coast and inland to around Nullagine, Meekatharra and Wiluna.  The helicopter support work was undertaken in two separate contracts.

 

The first contract ran for 40 days between 8 May and 21 June 1968 and the second contract ran for 45 days from 5 August to 21 September 1968.  For both contracts the aircraft was a piston engine Bell 47 G-4 (VH-UTS) chartered from Sydney-based Helicopter Utilities Pty Ltd.  The helicopter pilots were Nigel Osborne and Alan Silver.

 

During early to late October 1968, Ted was a member of a survey party under Peter Langhorne and Reg Ford that carried out second order mapping connections between islands in the Houtman Abrolhos.  Also called the Abrolhos Islands they comprise a chain of about 120 islands in several groups in the Indian Ocean some 80 kilometres off Geraldton.  (On 4 June 1629, the Dutch ship Batavia was wrecked on Morning Reef near Beacon Island in the Houtman Abrolhos.)  Today these islands are the centre of a large western rock lobster fishing industry.  The field party travelled from Geraldton on a chartered fishing boat.  The field party erected 30-foot towers and scaffolding on some of the islands.  Connections were also made to mainland survey stations.

 

Bell 47 G-4 (VH-UTS) helicopter on Nat Map traversing operations in Western Australia in 1968 (XNatmap image).

 

Ted’s Aerodist field work years 1969-1973

 

1969 field season

Ted joined the Melbourne-based Airborne Horizontal Control Section of the Topographic Survey Branch early in 1969.  Here Ted was engaged as a remote unit operator with the Aerodist measuring party under senior surveyor Syd Kirkby.  During that year’s operations the field survey party leaders were Syd and Con Veenstra.  The party leaders operated in the centre party with the measuring aircraft chartered from Executive Air Services.  During Ted’s Aerodist years the measuring aircraft was a high-wing, twin-engine Rockwell Grand Commander 680FL (VH-EXZ).  In 1969 all onshore remote work was vehicle-based as there was no helicopter contract that year.

 

Measuring operations commenced from Bourke and then moved to Tibooburra towards the end of May 1969.  Operations from both locations were over Block 15.  Afterwards, Aerodist measuring operations commenced in Blocks 16 and 20 from Jundah and Bedourie.  In late June 1969, the Aerodist field party was operating from Winton; Syd Kirkby was the field party leader.  Later the centre party was based at Longreach.  In the early afternoon of 21 July 1969 Ted Rollo was with fellow Nat Mapper Lawrie O’Connor at Stonehenge about 220 kilometres south of Winton when the first moon landing occurred.

 

Later during the onshore measuring, the centre party operated from Camooweal to measure to new stations along the Queensland-Northern Territory border in Block 12.  At Camooweal John Manning joined the Aerodist measuring party for the first time; under field party leader Con Veenstra.  The centre party later operated from Charters Towers.

 

Aerodist measuring aircraft at Caiguna, Western Australia in April 1972 (Paul Wise image).

 

During September-October 1969 Ted worked with the Aerodist measuring party as it extended the control survey network over the Great Barrier Reef and eastwards into the Coral Sea.  1969 Aerodist measuring operations in Block 23 commenced from Mackay on 3 September 1969 and concluded around 20 October 1969.  The Aerodist centre party was based at Mackay and Townsville.  (A map depicting the Nat Map Aerodist blocks over Australia is provided at Appendix B.)

 

Some 10 offshore control stations were connected by Aerodist measurements to the existing network.  Some of these stations were up to 500 kilometres off the coast.  Several of the Aerodist lines were over 300 kilometres in length.  These lines were measured with the aid of parabolic reflector antennae on the measuring aircraft VH-EXZ.  Two Royal Australian Navy minesweepers HMAS Hawk and HMAS Gull as well as a fishing trawler were used to transport the offshore remote parties.

 

Survey control stations occupied on offshore features during the 1969 offshore survey included: Edgell Reef (NM/OS/13), Brodie Cay (NM/OS/12 on Marion Reef), South west Lihou Reef (NM/OS/21), Turtle Islet (NM/OS/22), West Diamond Islet (NM/OS/20), Chilcott Islet (NM/OS/10), Willis Island (NM/OS/19), Herald Cays (NM/OS/09), Flinders Reefs (NM/OS/11), Wheeler Reef (NM/OS/15), and Holmes Reef (NM/OS/18).

 

1970 field season

Ted’s 1970 Aerodist field season commenced in late April with vehicle-based remote unit operations in the Riverina area of southern New South Wales.  Here the centre party was based at Hay while some supplementary control stations were measured in what later became Aerodist Block 39.  The control stations were in an area roughly bounded by Kerang, Balranald, Ivanhoe, Hay and Swan Hill.

 

The Aerodist measuring party then shifted to Block 18 in western Queensland prior to the start, and later after the conclusion, of the 1970 helicopter contract.  This block included the southern part of the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory.  Measuring in the western Queensland part of Block 18 commenced about 7 May 1970 using vehicle-based and later helicopter supported remote parties.  During the early 1970 vehicle-based remote operations the centre party was based at Boulia and Cloncurry.

 

Helicopter supported Aerodist operations started from Birdsville on about 1 June 1970 for the measuring in Block 22 across the Simpson Desert.  The Hughes 500 turbine helicopter were on charter from Jayrow Helicopters Pty Ltd headquartered at Melbourne’s Moorabbin airport.  The helicopter support camps were run by Norm Hawker.

 

The centre party was later based from Bedourie, Boulia, Tobermory homestead, Plenty Downs homestead and Andado homestead.  After the Simpson Desert work, the Aerodist centre party was based at Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, and Willowra homestead (now the Wirliyajarrayi community) for measurements in Block 17.

 

A remote operator’s life: Ted Rollo at NM/G/263 in the western Simpson Desert in July 1970 (Ted Graham image).

 

Later for the measuring in Block 31, the centre party was based at the Papunya Aboriginal community about 240 kilometres west of Alice Springs; then at Ayers Rock (now Uluru); and finally at the Docker River Aboriginal community (now Kaltukatjara) about 230 kilometres west of Ayers Rock.  The helicopter contract finished at Docker River around 8 October 1970.

 

In early October 1970 when operating from Docker River, the support helicopter, a Hughes 500 (VH-BLN), was unserviceable for several days while the turbine was replaced.  As a consequence several Aerodist remote parties had to be recovered by vehicle.  Ted Rollo and his assistant Neville Stonehouse were recovered from survey station NM/F/596.  This station was on the Northern Territory-Western Australia border to the north east of Lake Hopkins and about 30 kilometres east of the Sandy Blight Junction to Giles track.  The recovery was effected by Norm Hawker in an International C1300 vehicle.

 

Measuring in Block 18 resumed in the Northern Territory around 22 October 1970 under field party leader John Manning.  The Aerodist centre party was based from Tennant Creek and Camooweal; the remote parties were vehicle‑based.  The Aerodist measuring party was in Camooweal on 3 November 1970 (Melbourne Cup day).  Measuring in Block 18 for the 1970 field season then ceased and the Aerodist party prepared to travel to Charleville.

 

Ted’s final Aerodist measuring task in 1970 was to help in fixing the positions of seven supplementary control stations and State Permanent Mark 6835.  These stations were located in western Queensland and western New South Wales.  The measuring operations started from Charleville in the week commencing Monday 9 November 1970 and concluded at Broken Hill.

 

At the end of the measuring operations at Broken Hill on Friday 20 November 1970, field party leader Con Veenstra placed Ted in charge of the several centre party and remote party members for the vehicle journey to Melbourne headquarters.  The travel went without incident and all personnel and vehicles arrived in Melbourne in the middle of the following week.

 

1971 field season

Ted’s 1971 Aerodist measuring field season started during May at Dubbo in central New South Wales under senior surveyor Con Veenstra.  Here some supplementary control stations were measured in Aerodist Block 30.  The stations were roughly bounded by Narrandera, Lake Cargelligo, Nymagee, Coonabarabran, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga.  During this measuring the remote parties were vehicle-based.

 

At the completion of this initial work, Ted Rollo and other members of the Aerodist field party drove via Mount Isa and Tennant Creek to the recently established Rabbit Flat roadhouse on the Tanami Track about 560 kilometres north west of Alice Springs.  The vehicle travel was led by Nat Map surveyor Frank Johnston.

 

Between 17 June and 26 August 1971, Aerodist measuring operations were carried out in Blocks 17, 19, and 21.  The field party leaders were Con Veenstra, John Manning, and Frank Johnston.  The measuring aircraft was Executive Air Services’ VH-EXZ.  The aircraft pilots were Arthur Johnson and Graham Galliott.  During this period the centre party was based at Rabbit Flat, Halls Creek and Christmas Creek homestead (now known as Wankatjunka).

 

From May to September 1971, Aerodist field operations were supported with a Hughes 500 369HS helicopter (VH-UHO) chartered from Sydney based Helicopter Utilities.  There were two helicopter pilots: Harvey Else who started and finished the contract and Brian Harriss who relieved Harvey in the interim.  The helicopter engineers were Jack Fackrell, Frank Summers and John More.  The helicopter support camps were initially run by Norm Hawker and later by Lawrie O’Connor.

 

At NM/F/366 helicopter camp in the Great Sandy Desert in early August 1971; left to right: Jack Fackrell (helicopter engineer), Peter Blake, Ted Rollo and Lawrie O’Connor (Ted Graham image).

 

After measuring in Block 21 from Christmas Creek homestead was complete, Ted travelled with the Aerodist field party via Rabbit Flat, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek to Camooweal.  Between 6 and 17 September 1971 measuring operations continued from Camooweal over the Barkly Tableland in Aerodist Block 18.  Helicopter support was based from Lake Nash and then briefly from Mount Isa.  From 18 September 1971 the Aerodist field party travelled to Cairns to prepare for offshore operations.

 

Between 28 September and 26 October 1971, Ted Rollo was part of Aerodist station establishment and measuring operations that were undertaken in the Coral Sea and Torres Strait in the northern part of Aerodist Block 23 from Cairns to Daru and out to Willis Island.  Aerodist measuring in Block 23 had commenced in 1966 and the offshore network was completed during the 1971 field operations.

 

In 1971, the field party leader was Con Veenstra.  As usual, the measuring aircraft was Executive Air Services’ VH‑EXZ with pilots Arthur Johnson and Graham Galliott.  The 1971 offshore operations were supported by Department of Transport Navaids vessels principally MV Cape Pillar under Captain Gordon Maxwell and also MV Cape Moreton.  Owing to crew change requirements the MV Cape Moreton was later replaced by the MV Cape Don.  Each of these 2,000 ton vessels was equipped with a Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo (LARC) as well a launch.  These smaller vessels greatly assisted the Nat Map station establishment and remote parties with landings on the various reefs and islets.

 

The remote party that occupied the mainland survey stations along Cape York Peninsula was supported by a Bell 47J2-A helicopter (VH-THH) supplied by Adelaide based Australian Helicopters; the pilot was Keith McKenzie and the engineer was Roy Rayner.

 

During the 1971 offshore Aerodist operations Ted Rollo mainly worked with the centre party and flew as a booker in the measuring aircraft.  The centre party was based at Cairns, Cooktown and finally Thursday Island where it operated from the nearby Horn Island airstrip.  At the end of the measuring operations Ted Rollo travelled from Thursday Island to Cairns as a passenger on the MV Cape Pillar.

 

 

Ted Rollo (right) with Peter Salkowski travelling south from Thursday Island to Cairns on 27 October 1971 onboard MV Cape Pillar (Laurie McLean image).

 

1972 field season

Ted Rollo was in the main element of the Aerodist field party that left Melbourne on 6 March 1972 for the BP John Eyre Motel on the Eyre Highway at Caiguna in Western Australia.  The field party that was led by Paul Wise had to spend eight days in Adelaide while repairs were made to some of the vehicles.

 

From Caiguna reconnaissance and station marking work was carried out mainly in Block 32 and what later became Block 37 prior to Aerodist measuring operations commencing on 8 April 1972 using vehicle‑based remote parties in Blocks 32 and 37.  The measuring party was led by Frank Johnston and Ken Stewart and John South were the initial pilots of the measuring aircraft VH‑EXZ; Trevor Merton was a relief pilot later in the year.  As well as undertaking Aerodist remote work Ted Rollo spent some time with the centre party.  During Ted’s time with Aerodist in 1972 the centre party was based at Caiguna, Rawlinna, Kalgoorlie, Laverton, Featherstonhaugh, Carnegie homestead, Wiluna and Balfour Downs homestead from where Ted left the party.

 

At Featherstonhaugh centre party camp in the Great Victoria Desert in July 1972, left to right: Andrew Turk, Ted Rollo, and Oz Ertok (XNatmap image).

 

During most of Ted Rollo’s time with Aerodist field operations during April‑September 1972, measuring was undertaken with helicopter support in Blocks 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29.

 

To support the bulk of the 1972 Aerodist measuring program, two Hughes 500 369HS helicopters (VH-BLN and VH-BLO) were chartered from Jayrow Helicopters Pty Ltd based at Melbourne’s Moorabbin airport.  Helicopter support commenced from a camp at survey control station R199 on about 5 May 1972 and concluded from Forrest about 11 November 1972 about two months after Ted Rollo left the field party.

 

During Ted Rollo’s 1972 Aerodist work, helicopter pilots included: Cliff Dohle, Vic Barkell, Howard Bosse, Terry Ellis and Peter Clemence.  Engineers included: Dave King and Eckhart Schneider.  Helicopter support camps were run by Paul Wise, Andrew Dyson, and Andrew Greenall.

 

Montebello Islands survey 1972

From the Balfour Downs homestead Aerodist centre party camp in September 1972, Ted Rollo together with Andrew Turk, Ross Stapleton and Michael Lloyd detached from the Aerodist field party to undertake surveys around Vlaming Head near Onslow and in the Montebello Islands. (Vlamingh Head was first charted by Dutch sea captain Willem Hesselsz de Vlamingh in 1696. However, the spelling Vlaming has been used on various maps, including Nat Map's, since the work of English cartographer John Arrowsmith in the 1840s.) Other members to join Andrew Turk's field party for the Montebello Islands work were Jim Steed, Ed Burke, Bob Goldsworthy, Dave Abreu, Noel Goldsworthy, and Ken Brown.  Initially Ted Rollo and Jim Steed were engaged on benchmark photo-indentification along the Great Northern Highway in the Newman area.

 

The field party departed Dampier on the fishing boat Northern Venture on 24 October 1972.  Jim Steed and Dave Abreu were dropped at Barrow Island and Bob Goldsworthy and Ken Brown were then dropped at Lowendal Island.  A Tellurometer connection was then observed between the two islands.  The next morning the remaining six field party members (Andrew Turk, Ed Burke, Noel Goldsworthy, Mick Lloyd, Ross Stapleton and Ted Rollo) proceeded to Alpha Island in the Montebellos.

 

Only when there was Andrew Turk able to reveal the true purpose of the work required at Alpha and Trimouille islands where British atomic tests had been conducted in the 1950s.  The work involved:

·       survey measurements between old British mapping control stations, ground zero (where the towers holding some of the bombs had been located) on each of the two islands and subsequently constructed exclusion fences

·       Geiger counter radiation readings at points on radial grids surrounding both ground zero locations, at points on a large rectangular grid and at points on mapped locations covering significant areas beyond the grids

·       soil samples for radiation testing at each of the radial and rectangular grid points

·       laying down and securing white plastic crosses at key locations for subsequent aerial photography

·       a photographic record of the condition of the exclusion fences.

 

With these tasks completed the field party was taken back to Barrow Island for an overnight anchorage during the afternoon of 29 October 1972.  Next day the Barrow Island party came on-board and the Northern Venture returned to Dampier.  The entire trip lasted seven days with a total of 24 man-days used to complete all the tasks at the atomic sites.  The one exception was the connection to the national survey network which was achieved during an Aerodist and Tellurometer survey in September 1973.

 

 

Ted Rollo laying out a spot photography target on Alpha Island in late October 1972 (Ed Burke image).

 

Ted Rollo monitoring radiation levels on Trimouille Island in late October 1972 (Ed Burke image).

 

1973 field season

Ted’s 1973 Aerodist field season commenced on 22 March.  He initially worked on station marking and clearing activities from Shepparton in north central Victoria under field party leader Andrew Turk.  Later the work area extended over southern and western New South Wales (from around Wagga Wagga to Hillston and Wentworth), across central, northern and western Victoria (including around Swan Hill, Mildura, Hopetoun, Ouyen, Horsham, and Hamilton) and to Mount Gambier in South Australia.  The work area later became part of Aerodist Block 39.

 

Aerodist measuring operations commenced from Deniliquin on 21 May 1973.  Ted worked mainly as a relief booker with the centre party that was based at Hay from 4 June 1973 and later from Swan Hill, Mildura and Horsham.  The measuring field party leaders were Peter Langhorne and Frank Johnston.  Aircraft VH-EXZ pilots were Trevor Merton and John Harvey.  Remote parties were vehicle-based but in the cold and wet winter of 1973, driving conditions (especially in the black soil area of the Riverina) were far from easy.  A number of bogged vehicles required recovery assistance.

 

While based from Horsham in late July 1973, Ted found time to visit the Seppelt Winery at Great Western.  Here he was able to inspect the process used for making bottle-fermented champagne by the traditional méthode champenoise.  (From the mid-1990s the European Union began enforcing a ban on the of the words champagne and champagne method for any sparkling white wines produced outside the Champagne region of France as well as on other French wine names such as Burgundy.  Australia complied with this ban in 2011.)  At Great Western the champagne bottles were racked in a labyrinth of underground cellars known as the Drives that extended for some three kilometres beneath the winery.  Excavation of the Drives was started in 1868 by out-of-work miners from the early Victorian Gold Rush era and continued for over 60 years.  The Great Western Drives are said to be the largest underground cellars in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

As measuring from Horsham concluded, Ted Rollo and some other Aerodist field party members travelled by vehicles to Onslow in Western Australia in early August 1973 for offshore work in Block 36.

 

Offshore surveys from Onslow 1973

The survey work in Block 36 that Ted Rollo was engaged with involved measuring 57 Aerodist lines, fixing 8 offshore points by Aerodist photo trilateration; undertaking 26 Tellurometer connections and 13 spot photographs.  Eleven survey control stations were established.  The positions of 12 survey stations in Block 36 were coordinated by Aerodist in 1973.

 

The field party leader for this block was Peter Langhorne.  The centre party was based mainly at Onslow from 11 August to 20 September 1973 except for the period 13 to 17 September when it flew out of Port Hedland.  The pilot of aircraft VH-EXZ during Block 36 operations was John Harvey.  Initially the work was fixing the positions of offshore islands and other features from Onslow.  Offshore Aerodist remote and Tellurometer parties were positioned by a chartered fishing boat, the Quinda under Master Ian Blair.  The Quinda was chartered from 16 to 29 August 1973.

 

Montebello Islands surveys 1973

In early September 1973, the offshore work shifted to the Montebello Islands and Barrow Island area.  Ted Rollo was a member of the offshore survey parties led by Andrew Turk that were positioned by the chartered fishing vessel Caroline M that operated out of Sam’s Creek near Point Samson.  The Caroline M departed Sam’s Creek on 4 September 1973 and positioned survey parties at survey control station NM/F/653 on Lowendal Island, at survey station NM/F/559 on an un-named island and at MA Nicholas and Associates’ survey station MN 591 on Hermite Island.

 

The Caroline M then proceeded to a Royal Australian Navy survey station G1 on Trimouille Island where a survey party undertook Tellurometer connections and Aerodist remote unit operations.  The remote unit operations from Trimouille Island provided one of the connecting stations for the first photo trilateration fix for Tryal Rocks on 8 September 1973.

 

After retrieving the various survey parties the Caroline M returned to Sam’s Creek on 10 September 1973.  Some survey party members were then engaged with Aerodist photo trilateration measurements to fix the positions of offshore features at Tryal Rocks (additional points), Geographe Shoals, Little Turtle Islet, North Turtle Island, and Bedout Island.  These measurements were completed by 17 September 1973 and most survey party members then travelled to Esperance.

 

Archipelago of the Recherché survey 1973

From late September to early November 1973, Ted Rollo was part of a field survey party under Frank Johnston that undertook Aerodist measuring and Tellurometer traversing operations on offshore islands in the Archipelago of the Recherché in Block 37 east of the 123 degrees east meridian.  These operations included two or three ray theodolite intersections to some offshore features that could not be occupied.  This variety of survey methods was due to the nature of the topography and the prevailing sea and weather conditions.

 

The survey party was based from Esperance where the 29-foot cray boat Water Lily III and its dingy were chartered from local identity Don MacKenzie to position the offshore parties.  The Aerodist measuring aircraft was VH-EXZ with pilot John Harvey.

 

Ted was a member of the boat party.  Party leader Frank Johnston went on most of the boat journeys as landings on most offshore features were always problematic and hazardous.  Only two of the islands had sheltered landing sites.  The remaining islands were mainly of smooth granite rock dipping sharply into the water, or with vertical cliffs or tumbled broken rocks.  The waves from the open Southern Ocean continuously broke over or swept around these exposed features.  The prevailing weather pattern was strong winds, rain and rough seas.  Generally fairly calm seas were only experienced on a couple of days each week.  That the survey was completed at all was due solely to the calibre of the Nat Map boat party members and to the skill and seamanship of Hugh MacKenzie (Don’s son) who skippered the chartered boat and it dingy.  On some boat journeys, Hugh was assisted by his younger brother Fud.  The field work was completed by 3 November 1973 and the party returned to Melbourne over the following week.

 

Wedge Island in the Archipelago of the Recherché was occupied during the 1973 Nat Map survey.  (Paul Wise image 1984.)

 

1974 field work

It could not be established if Ted undertook any Nat Map field work in 1974.

 

1975 field season

Ted Rollo’s 1975 field season commenced in late August and ended in late November during this time he worked in Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.  Ted undertook spot photography operations in Western Australia and Tellurometer and theodolite traversing in the other two jurisdictions.

 

Western Australia spot photography 1975

From 2 to 11 September 1975 Ted Rollo carried out spot photography operations from the remote Kidson Field airstrip in the northern Gibson Desert of Western Australia.  The spot photography was of untargeted benchmarks along Department of the Interior level traverses in the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts generally to the north and east of Kidson.

 

The small Nat Map field party comprised Ted, Andrew Turk, Hayden Reynolds and Laurie McLean with pilot Dick Coxon flying a chartered Transwest single engine Cessna 182 fixed wing aircraft (VH-DXC) with a floor cut-out for the vertical mounted Hasselblad 70 mm camera.

 

Cessna 182 VH-DXC landing at Kisdon Field during spot photography operations in September 1975 (Laurie McLean image).

 

During the week from 12 September 1975 Ted undertook spot photography operations from Giles Weather Station capturing aerial images of established trigonometrical stations.

 

Great Victoria Desert traverse 1975

From 18 September to around 18 October 1975 Ted Rollo and other Nat Mappers were engaged on a second order Tellurometer and theodolite traverse in northern South Australia in a field survey party led by Nat Map surveyor Mike Morgan.  The traverse was needed to strengthen perimeter survey control down the 132° east meridian between photogrammetric blocks 28 and 39.  The traverse ran from Mount Warrabillinna (NM/E/26) in the Musgrave Range near the Ernabella (Pukatja) community about 190 kilometres south into the Great Victoria Desert past the Fregon (Katjiti) community to an established South Australian survey control station (T4/5241) located to the north of the Emu nuclear test area.  Four new survey stations were established along the traverse, the last of these that Ted occupied was NM/E/49.

 

Ted’s survey camp at NM/E/49 in October 1975 (Laurie McLean image).

 

Simpson Desert traverse 1975

Between 20 and 23 October 1975 Ted was a member of a field party led by Mike Morgan that undertook a Tellurometer connection reconnaissance along the northern side of the Rodinga Range on the north western edge of the Simpson Desert.  Ted and other field party members camped near Kay Bore on the north side of the Rodinga Range south west of Steele’s Gap on the first night.

 

About dusk that evening there was a hail storm and Ted managed to collect a cup of pea-sized hail to cool the drinking water.  Over the next couple of days the party recced along the range past Gypsum Bore to Desert Bore and then back to Athernita Bore where the party camped on the night of 22 October before returning to Alice Springs the next day.

 

In early November 1975 Ted worked on the Tellurometer and theodolite connection that established survey control station NM/G/243 to strengthen control along the 135° east meridian in photogrammetric block 23.  The field party was then led by Nat Map surveyor Andrew Greenall.  As part of this work Ted and Laurie McLean established survey station NM/G/242 on the Pillar Range on the north western fringe of the Simpson Desert about 140 kilometres south-east of Alice Springs.

 

Ted and Laurie connected NM/G/242 to Mount Rodinga and to NM/G/243.  They completed this work on Tuesday 11 November 1975 and later that day started the trip across the sandhills back towards Alice Springs.  At their roadside camp that night Ted and Laurie were surprised to hear on an ABC radio news broadcast that the Whitlam government had been dismissed.

 

1976 field work

It could not be established if Ted undertook any Nat Map field work in 1976.

 

1977 field work

Ted’s 1977 field work was in north western Australian supporting coastal aerial photography operations.  Between 28 May and 15 July 1977 Nat Map captured aerial photography at mean high water along the coast covering the 1:250,000 scale map sheets from Broome to Darwin as well as off-shore features: Browse Island, Scott Reef, Seringapatam Reef, Ashmore Reef, Hibernia Reef and Cartier Islet.  This photography was captured at an average scale of 1:34,500 on Kodak 2424 black and white 230 mm format film stock that sensed into the infra-red band of the electromagnetic spectrum.  The Wild RC10 aerial survey camera was fitted in a Rockwell Shrike Commander 500S (VH-PWO) on charter from Executive Air West (the Perth-based Western Australian arm of Executive Air Services).  The pilots were Jack Marshall and Max Cooper.

 

The initial Nat Map field party leader was Rom Vassil who was later replaced by Carl McMaster.  Photography line navigators and Wild RC10 camera operators were Ed Burke, Joe McRae, Bob Smith and Bill Stuchbery.  Real-time tidal data was recorded by Ted Rollo with Mick Lloyd, Bob Goldsworthy, Reg Kearns, and Steve Pinwill.  Mick Lloyd recalled operating tide poles with Ted at Broome, Cape Leveque, One Arm Point, Admiralty Gulf and Port Keats (now called Wadeye).

 

Nat Map Dandenong office activities

By 1978, Ted was a member of Project Team 4 in the Topographic Compilation Branch at Nat Map’s Ellery House office in Dandenong.  In this position Ted was mainly engaged in office-based map compilation tasks and rarely undertook assignments in the field.

 

However, in April 1987, together with PT 4 members Julie Gould and Ron Wilson, Ted undertook a four-day field trip to Wilson’s Promontory and Mcloughlin’s Beach (about 20 kilometres east of Yarram).  This field trip was part of the field completion of the SJ 55-10 Warragul 1:250, 000 scale sheet in the national topographic map series.

 

Ted had another field trip in October 1988 undertaking aerial inspection work over the south west Queensland channel country with other members of Project Team 4.  The aircraft used was Nat Map’s Cessna 337F Super Skymaster (VH‑JQN) a push-pull twin engine aircraft with temporary Nat Map staff pilot Rob Spry.  For this work the field party was based at Thargomindah about 920 kilometres south west of Brisbane.  Some 24 compilation sheets at 1:100,000 scale were inspected during this field work.

 

Over the years at Dandenong, Ted was an active participant in numerous Nat Map Dandenong office Social Club activities.  Ted was also a strong supporter of the Social Club.  He was a committee member at least in 1988 and in 1991 and in 1992 Ted was the Social Club secretary.

 

Vale

Ted Rollo’s passing was sudden and unexpected.  He died at Dandenong and District Hospital from an aneurism on Saturday 21 June 1997 at 52 years of age.  Prior to being taken to hospital Ted apparently indicated to his partner Jeff that he was feeling light-headed as if he was drunk and thought he would just lie down for a while.  Sadly it was much more serious than that.  Ted was survived by his sister Lorraine and by his partner Jeff.  Facsimiles of newspaper death notices for Ted Rollo are provided at Appendix C.

 

Ted’s funeral service was held in the Boyd Chapel at Springvale Cemetery on Wednesday 25 June 1997.  The service commenced at 3:30 pm and was arranged by Mark Carey Funerals of Albert Park.  A large number of Ted’s Nat Map friends were amongst the mourners.  Diana Vlahovich recalled that a lighter moment at Ted’s service was when the music of The Teddy Bears’ Picnic was played and brought a relieving laugh from the mourners.  (This music was written by United States composer John Walter Bratton in 1907 and the lyrics to the popular children’s’ song were written by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932.)

 

Afterwards Ted’s remains were cremated and interred in the Garden of No Distant Place at Springvale on 13 July 1997.

 

Ted Bear is still sadly missed but fondly remembered by all Nat Mappers who knew him.

 

 

 

 


 

Appendix A

 

Ted Rollo’s report of his August-September 1986 trip to the United States*

 

Ted Bear on the Road

My flight to Hawaii was part of a special deal the travel agent had wrangled for me.  The cheap fare included transfers to and from the hotel and overnight accommodation, as well as a traditional Hawaiian welcome.

 

After getting leid at the airport we were transported to the hotel in a big black limo.  At the hotel desk we were informed that they'd messed up the bookings and that the room was taken, so they'd give me another - a suite on the 44th floor.  Not a bad exchange for a twin share room!  It turned out to be great – 2 bedrooms, bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen and a dining and living area.  As well as this it had 3 colour TVs!

 

In order to fly to either Los Angeles or San Francisco the agent had booked us on the cheapest available flight - World Airways.  I wasn't too happy, as they sounded like an organisation from Flying High.  I checked with Continental Airlines and they were willing to exchange World tickets for their own.  Just as well too, because a few days later World Airways went into receivership!

 

After a great night in Honolulu, the dawn departure was a bit of a shock, but before long we'd landed in San Francisco.  After picking up a rental car we made our way into the city and caught up with a few old friends, collected some camping gear for the forthcoming weekend, and generally prepared for an early start the next day.

 

Well the start wasn't too early about mid morning. Across the Bay Bridge, down

Interstate 5, across to 99 and into Fresno in the mid-afternoon, where we booked into a Motel 6.  Motel 6s are a chain of cheap motels across the US.  They're usually just near the freeway and provide basic accommodation.  They're nothing flash, but $20 gets a room with TV, fridge and phone. As well, most have swimming pools.  Fresno is situated about mid-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, in the middle of the major Californian agricultural area, and is considered to be the pits.  It is!  It's the US equivalent to Dandenong.  Nobody ever admits to coming from Fresno.

 

*This report appeared in the December 1986 edition of the Dandenong office Nat Map News.

That evening we spent about an hour trying to find an eating place that wasn't fast food.  We finally found an enormous restaurant surrounded by a carpark (it looked like a shopping centre).  The food there was good, and once again the inexpensive prices of food in the US was brought home.  I had a steak with an Australian lobster tail - cost $11.  Lamb, however, was the most expensive thing on the menu at about $20.

 

I also realised that there were many other things to get used to - the wide variety of choice, usually of about 5 types of bread on the table and in sandwiches, half dozen or so salad dressings, etc.  Also ordering the salad with the meal, not before, as the Americans do.  The jugs of iced water on the table with every meal, the awkward way they handle a knife and fork, and those portion packs of sugar and milk substitutes.

 

Next day we continued the journey to Badger Flat.  Badger Flat is a great campsite in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and is at an altitude of about 9,800 feet.  Coming from sea level, the altitude really gets you out of breath easily, so everything is done at a leisurely pace for the first couple of days.

 

After 4 days camping, there we packed up and travelled on to Yosemite National Park and filled in the couple of days before our flight to Denver.  Yosemite is a really spectacular scenic area and is well worth a visit for anyone into natural wonders.

 

A few days later we were in Denver, a big spreading city not unlike Melbourne.  Even the car drivers are just as aggressive, something of a shock after the fast but courteous drivers in California.  After the traumatic drive across town to the motel, we unpacked and relaxed around the pool and consumed numerous margueritas.

 

The visit to Denver was in order to tour the Rockies, so early next morning we set off north.  Mid-morning we stopped at an ice-cream shop that advertised 150 flavours.  Yep, they had them, but some you wouldn't think of trying, like licorice-watermellon.  After the ice-cream we headed on the Estes Park at the entrance to the National Park.  It seemed such a great place we stayed.  Next day we took off into the Rockies.  The next 10 days were spent in the area within 100 miles radius east of Denver.  As well as the spectacular scenery, the area is dotted with historically interesting towns - most of them renovated and restored to their former glory.

 

The highlights of the 2 weeks in Colorado?

·       Drinks in the oldest saloon in the State, where Jesse James used to drink.

·       The guest house I didn't stay at that made everyone take off their shoes before entering.

·       The waitress who was amazed that we spoke English.

·       The tourist town with the sign welcoming motorcyclists - then banned all motorcycle parking in the streets (cars OK!).

·       The incredibly Yuppie town Aspen - full of expensive condominiums, expensive fashion shops and trendy restaurants.

 

Soon it was time to return to San Francisco, where we hired a car and headed north to Guerneville, a tourist resort 69 miles north of San Francisco.  At Guerneville there was still evidence of the floods earlier in the year.  I called in to my favourite bar in the area - Molly Brown’s, only to discover that the barmaid was a young lady I'd met in a nearby town the year before.  After lots of nice drinks, a good meal and good conversation, I finally made it back to the motel in the small hours of the morning.  The next couple of days were spent lazing around the pool and spa pool, not doing much at all, just relaxing.

 

We headed on back to San Francisco for the weekend before flying home, and were immediately thrust into a great party that went Friday through till Saturday night.  It was almost a relief to fly out on Sunday.  I slept most of the flight to Hawaii and after a couple of hours in Hawaii waiting for the ongoing flight to Melbourne, we boarded the aircraft home.  I slept most of this flight too.

 

After 4 weeks of almost perfect weather, the arrival in Melbourne to a very cold and windy morning left me wondering why I bothered to live in such a climate.  I'm still wondering.

 

 

 


 

Appendix B

 

Final Nat Map Aerodist Blocks

 

Aerodist Block areas and centre party bases 1963-1974; adapted from McMaster (1980) with centre party base annotations by Paul Wise 2015.

 


 

 

 

Appendix C

 

Newspaper death notices for Edward John Rollo

 

The Age Tuesday 24 June 1997

Rollo Edward John aka Mr Bear-suddenly on Saturday 21 June 1997 just 53.  This wonderful man left behind him a legacy of warmth, humour and understanding.  He will be sadly missed by his sister Lorraine and aunt Joan and most of all by his adoring cub Gunter.  Farewell my beloved friend the candle may have gone out for you but the flame will forever remain alight in my heart.

 

The Age Wednesday 25 June 1997

Rollo Edward John (Mr Bear)-a giant of a man who helped the less fortunate and shared widely his delightful humour and practical wisdom.  His many friends from Hattah to Badger Flat will miss him greatly-Wombat.

 

 


 

 

 

References

Australian Electoral Commission (various dates), Searches of various historical electoral rolls 1903-1980; from the Ancestry website at: http://search.ancestry.com.au/search/

 

Baker, Harry William (2017), Personal communication.

 

Commonwealth of Australia (1970), Appointments, Department of National Development,-Victoria in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No 77, 10 September 1970, page 6170; accessed at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/content/HistoricGazettes1970

 

Commonwealth of Australia (1973), Promotions, Department of Minerals and Energy, Victoria in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No 51, 3 May 1973, page 144; accessed at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/content/HistoricGazettes1973

 

Commonwealth of Australia (1996), Retirements and dismissals, Department of Administrative Services, Victoria in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, Public Service issue No 31, 8 August 1996, Page 3753; accessed at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244152285

 

Division of National Mapping (1977-1993), The Natmap News; various editions of the National Mapping Dandenong office staff newsletter; accessed from the XNatmap website at:

http://www.xnatmap.org/adnm/nmnews/index.htm

 

Ely, John Herbert (2017), Personal communication.

 

Ford, Reginald Arthur (1979), The Division of National Mapping's Part in the Geodetic Survey of Australia, in The Australian Surveyor, June, September and December 1979: Volume 29, No 6, pp. 375-427; Volume 29, No 7, pp. 465-536; Volume 29, No 8, pp.581-638, ISSN 00050326, published by the Institution of Surveyors, Australia.  This work is accessible on the XNatmap website at http://www.xnatmap.org/adnm/ops/prog/rafgeosvy/index.htm

 

Lawrence, Graeme Bruce (2017-2018), Personal communications.

 

Lloyd, Michael Terence (2017), Personal communication.

 

McLean, Lawrence William (2006), Reminiscences on Densifying Vertical Control in the Great Sandy Desert in 1975; an article on the XNatmap website at: http://www.xnatmap.org/adnm/ops/proj/mcleans/vc/1975sph.htm

 

McLean, Lawrence William (2015), The Aerodist Years: Recollections of the Division of National Mapping's Airborne Distance Measuring Program 1963-1974; an article on the XNatmap website at: http://www.xnatmap.org/adnm/ops/prog/aaerod/adist6374/intro.htm

 

McMaster, Carl (1980), National Mapping Aerodist Program, Natmap Technical Report 27, Department of National Development and Energy, Canberra, ISBN 0 642 51459 3, accessed from the XNatmap website at: http://www.xnatmap.org/report_tdnm/27_aerodist.pdf

 

Morgan, Michael John (2018), Personal communication.

 

O’Connor, Lawrence William (2018), Personal communication.

 

Roelse, Adrian (2017), Personal communication.

 

Springvale Botanic Cemetery (2017), Searches on the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust’s Deceased Search Facility; accessed at: https://sbc.smct.org.au/deceased-search/

 

Stuchbery, William Robert (2017), Personal communication.

 

Turk, Dr Andrew Glenn (2014), 1972 Montebello Islands Survey, Western Australia; an article on the XNatmap website at: http://www.xnatmap.org/adnm/docs/recolls/agtwa72/Montebello.htm

 

Vlahovich, Diana (2017), Personal communication.

 

Wise, Paul Joseph (2017-2018), Personal communications.

 

Witzand, Jan Willem; Langhorne, Peter Handley; and Ford, Reginald Arthur (1970), Helicopter Borne Traversing for Mapping Control April-November 1968, Technical Report 9; Division of National Mapping, Department of National Development, Canberra; accessed from the XNatmap website at: http://www.xnatmap.org/report_tdnm/Heli%20Trav%20WA%2009%202.pdf