The Macquarie Dictionary has defined surveying as 'the art of determining the form, boundaries, extent, etc., of parts of the earth's surface, by linear and angular measurements and the application of the principles of geometry and trigonometry'.

• surveyors
• doing the survey
• survey tools

SURVEYORS

The first surveyors

Early surveyors performed trigonometrical surveys around Brisbane and established the first baseline. Explorers paved the way for settling the interior.

Examinations and progression

Requirements for progression to a qualified surveyor.

Surveyors and the Aboriginal people 

Aborigines prove to be invaluable assistants

Verifying the surveys

The work of non-government surveyors examined.

Institution of surveyors

The progression and growth of the institute.

Surveyors overseas

Respect for Queensland surveyors overseas.

World War I (1914 to 1919) Honour Board

Queensland Lands Department officers and contract surveyors honoured for serving their country.

Cartographers, surveyors and their arts

Artistic qualities are brought to the fore. 

DOING THE SURVEY

Camps

Establishing makeshift and not-so-makeshift accommodation.

Doing the survey

Instruments and procedures used for conducting a survey.

Establishing Queensland's borders

Surveyors mark out Queensland's boundaries.

Food

Survey teams' diet and how they acquired food.

Things that bite, scratch and sting

Hindrances to survey parties.

Too much or too little water

From scarcity of drinking water to dangerous floods. 

Surveying for topographic mapping by the army

The need for mapping as a result of two world wars.

Transport

The changing methods of getting to the survey.

SURVEY TOOLS

Many of the early Australian firms that sold surveying instruments and equipment were primarily jewellers and opticians. These firms imported instruments mostly from English manufacturers such as Troughton and Simms, W.F. Stanley, Negretti and Zambra, and Elliott Brothers. These manufacturers would often order a batch of unbranded theodolites or levels and stamp their firm’s name on the instrument. 

Some local Australian firms, mainly in Sydney and Melbourne, did some local manufacturing. They included Brush and MacDonnell, Flavelle Brothers, Angelo Tornaghi. Some of these firms had branch offices in Queensland. 

In Queensland, the local firms of Herga Greenfield and HW Valle were the most notable sellers and repairers of surveying instruments in this State.

Chains

Gunter's chain and flat steel tapes.

Chain standardisation

Establishing accurate standards for chain and tape comparison.

The Perambulator

Using the wheel to measure distances in early Queensland times.

The Circumferentor

Measuring direction by early surveyors. 

Calculations

Methods of calculating the survey.