The Department of Natural Resources and Water sells a number of quality historical products useful for general display and educational purposes.

Historical maps

There are four early maps of Australia that have been reproduced in colour. They represent the European perception of the 'Great Southern Continent' at intervals of 100 years.

The maps are by Desceliers (1550), Jansson (1650), Bellin (1753) and Tallis (1851): 

Desceliers: The south-eastern section of a famous manuscript map held in the British Library. It shows what is widely believed to represent Portuguese discoveries along the east coast of Australia in the early 1500's.

Jansson: This map was produced after Tasman's second voyage in 1644. However, this map titled 'Mar di India', continues to show Dutch discoveries of the north-east and south-west of Australia unconnected.

Bellin: A map of the Australian east coast from Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania), north through Espiritu Santo to New Guinea. It includes the annotation in French and Dutch, "I suppose that the land of Diemen can join with the land of the Holy Ghost, but this is without proof".

Tallis: A map of Australia containing beautifully detailed illustrations and border artwork. 

Other historical maps available for sale include a map titled 'Geography of the World 1774', and the first map of Queensland after separation. The map is titled the Leopold Franz Landsberg and covers an area from the south-eastern portion of the new colony north to Cape Palmerston.

Historical photographs

The collection is comprised of photographs by early State Government photographers, images purchased from commercial photographers, and donations from private collections. The oldest photographs date back to the early 1850s.

Other historical publications

'Redefining the Queensland-New South Wales Border: Guidelines for Surveyors':

A detailed authoritative reference about the history and legal aspects of the establishment of the border and guidelines for present-day surveyors needing to determine its true location. 
This is a free publication available at departmental outlets.

In the Steps of our Forefathers: 
The history of surveyors' exploits and their role in establishing settlements. Surveyor/explorers highlighted include Leichhardt, McCabe, Burnett, Byerley, Dixon, Cunningham, Oxley, Stuart and Flinders.