1860 to 1880: Examinations for draftsmen introduced

During the mid 1870s, a system of periodical examinations for draftsmen was introduced. Also in that year, the Queensland Institute of Surveyors was founded.

1881 to 1900: Depression depletes staff numbers

The table below provides an indication of salaries paid to draftsmen employed by the government in the Survey Office in 1889, compared with 1899: 

	1889	1899
Chief Draftsman	£600	£400
Senior Draftsman	£500	None employed
	53 staff	46 staff

The cut-back in staff and wages was due to an economic depression, peaking around 1895. It was observed by the Surveyor General that previous high standards were maintained during these years because of 'cheerful exertions' of the remaining officers, and the fall-off of land dealings.

Draftsmen in the Survey Office, 1890

1901 to 1920: Drafting staff again reduced

The early years of the 1900s witnessed staff retrenchments. This was demonstrated in 1907 when the Survey Office was reduced to just seventeen draftsmen, of which only three were capable of working on stone. Consequently, map production suffered severely.

However because settlement on new land was occurring at a slow pace due to severe drought, there was decreased demand for new maps. The retrenchment scheme was so invasive that even the office of the Surveyor General was abolished early in the decade, albeit only until 1907.

A step forward for women
In 1909, two young ladies were appointed to the drafting staff. This was a victory for women of this time -

the natural refinement of their sex should assist them in doing the drawing, writing and colouring of maps with taste and neatness. ^{Unknown source}

Drafting section, 1909

 

Mapping vigour renewed
By 1920, the strength of draftsmen in the Survey Office had increased to 35. This saw a new vigour in map output and many new parish maps and other themed maps were published.

1921 to 1950: Progression of draftsmen and quality of output

During the 1920s, the career path for prospective cartographers entering the public service began as a cadet draftsman for a period of five years. They then became an assistant draftsman for a further five years. After satisfying examiners, the next appointment was as a draftsman. A draftsman then had automatic increment increases over a seven year period.

In 1928, a three year 'Certificate Course in Survey Drafting' commenced. This was eventually replaced by a five year Certificate course in 1966.

Superior penmanship
This era was the beginning of the epitome of fine hand lettering.  Using crowquills, the penmanship of the elite draftsmen fell marginally short of perfection. Completed cadastral or land sale maps were works of art. 

 

Survey Office staff, 1931

1951 to 1985: Institute of Cartographers established

The Australian Institute of Cartographers (AIC) was established as a public company in September of 1952. This was as a result of all States combining to form a national body. The Queensland Division was inaugurated on 1 January 1962.

The early 1970s saw a decrease in the amount of time taken to reach the level of draftsman from 10 to 5 years. 

The first conference of the Australian Institute of Cartographers was presented in 1974 and have continued to be held every two years.

1986 to the Present: Education growth

The range of cartographic education courses available in Australia has gradually increased. 

By 1987 it was possible to study cartography, land information, remote sensing and geographical information sciences at all levels. This included certificates and diplomas, undergraduate and master degrees, right up to a PhD.^{Cartography December 1991}

Institute name changes
In 1989, a motion to change the Institute's name to 'The Australian Institute of Geographic Information Technology' was defeated. This was as a result of government, industry and education sectors using like terms.

However, in 1995 the Australian Institute of Cartographers changed its name to Mapping Sciences Institute, Australia.

In April 2003, the professional disciplines of cartography, mining and engineering, remote sensing and photogrammetry, surveying, and other forms of spatial information and dissemination, were amalgamated into a single institution called the Spatial Sciences Institute (SSI).

Present day activities

Today, the cartographer is heavily involved in the collection of spatial data relating to land forms and associated attribute information. This also includes disseminating and presenting this information in many forms as required by the users.

These output deliverables may be read from web browsers, hand-held devices or desktop and laptop computers which run specific software.

More information on this GIS based mapping can be found on the Geographic Information Systems page.

 

 

 

Building on a GIS dataset for mapping