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Surveyor-General of Victoria

Person nominally responsible for government surveying in Victoria, Australia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Surveyor-General of Victoria is the public service officer nominally responsible for government surveying in Victoria, Australia. The original duties for the Surveyor-General were to measure and determine land grants for settlers in Victoria. (see History of Victoria). The Surveyor-General continues to be the primary government authority on surveying and the cadastre (land property boundaries and tenure).[1]

The Surveyor-General is also the Chair of the Surveyors Registration Board of Victoria (formerly the Surveyors Board of Victoria) and also holds the appointment of the Registrar of Geographic Names. In addition, the Surveyor-General is a member of the Electoral Boundaries Commission of Victoria and a member of the Federal Electoral Redistribution Committee for Victoria. The Surveyor-General is a State Verifying Authority for the measurement of length.

The Surveying Act 2004, Act 47/2004, Part 6, specifies the appointment, suspension and functions of the Surveyor-General. Note that the Act spells "Surveyor-General" with a hyphen, which is the conventional spelling. The Surveyor-General is required to be a Licensed Surveyor.[2]

The Surveyor-General was originally created as a department following the separation in July 1851 of the Port Phillip District from the Colony of New South Wales to establish the Colony of Victoria. Prior to that, Port Phillip was a district branch of the NSW Surveyor-General’s Department. The Surveyor-General initially also held political office, being a member of the Victorian Legislative Council 1851-1855 and then as a Minister 1855-57. Thereafter, it changed from being that of a Ministry to a public service role as Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey and also the Surveyor-General. During its history, the Office of Surveyor-General has come under a range of different departments and divisions, with different reporting arrangements. It has also downsized, and responsibilities changed.[3]

Previous responsibilities of the Surveyor-General have included being the Guardian of Aborigines, which was transferred from the Chief Secretary to the Surveyor-General in 1856. Subsequently, it was assumed by the Board of Land and Works, under the Department of Crown Lands and Survey in 1857. The planning for and surveying of proposed railway lines in Victoria also became an important role. In May 1856, a sub-department of railways within the Surveyor-General's Department. It was established within this Department because the prime function of 'Victorian Railways' was, at that time, the survey of proposed lines of railway. In the post Second World War period, the Surveyor-General was also Director of Mapping, but in 1995 lost this position to the Office of Geographic Data Coordination (OGDC) which became the Land Information Group (LIG) under Land Victoria. The responsibilities have continued with another business unit under what is now Land Use Victoria.

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Sesquicentenary of the Surveyor-General Victoria 2001

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Victorian Governor John Landy with the then Surveyor-General and Previous Appointees at the Institution of Surveyors Victoria Gala Dinner 2001
Pictured (L-R): Barrie Bremner (Acting 1998), Alan Fennell (Acting 1998-1999), Robert Eddington (Acting 1988), Surveyor-General (at 2001) Keith Bell AM RFD (1999-2003), Governor of Victoria John Landy AC CVO MBE FTSE (2001-2006), Colin Middleton ISO (1967-1972), Raymond Holmes AM (1979-1988), & John Parker (1989-1998)

The Sesquicentenary of the Surveyor-General of Victoria in 2001 was a collaboration between the Office of the Surveyor-General of Victoria and the surveying profession to celebrate the 150 years of the office since the appointment of the first Surveyor-General Robert Hoddle on 15 July 1851. Hoddle was appointed just two weeks after the Colony of Victoria, was founded with its separation from New South Wales, under the enabling legislation passed by the New South Wales Legislative Council which took effect 1 July 1851. The Sesquicentenary celebrations included events undertaken throughout Victoria including:

  • 1 May 2001 - ceremony on the Jeparit-Rainbow Road at the 36th Parallel of Latitude South, at Geppert's Gate, where the Iron Survey Post monument was unveiled by the Hindmarsh Shire President, John Kemfert and the Victorian Surveyor-General, Keith Bell. The monument is a replica of the survey monument posts that Surveyor Tom Turner laid along the longitude meridians of 36th Parallel of latitude during his historic 1884 survey.
  • 7 July 2001 - The Institution of Surveyors Victoria (ISV) organized the Gala Dinner celebration and His Excellency Governor John Landy was the guest of honour and keynote speaker. Governor Landy was accompanied by his wife Mrs. Lynne Landy.
  • 16 July 2001 - Victorian Governor John Landy unveiled a plaque outside of Melbourne's Docklands Stadium to honour Hoddle and commemorate the point of origin for the Survey of Melbourne, Batman's Hill Datum, which commenced in 1837. The plaque was commissioned by the Surveyors Board of Victoria, through the then Surveyor-General, Keith Clifford Bell, and in conjunction with the Docklands Authority, and the surveying profession of Victoria (i.e. ISV)
  • 7 July 2001 - Commemorative two-page spread in the Herald Sun with messages from the Governor and Surveyor-General, organised by ISV.
  • September 2001 – A storyboard commemorating the survey of Yea by Thomas Wilkinson Pinniger was unveiled by the Surveyor-General with members of the Yea and District Historical Society and Local government officials. Pinniger was the father of George William Pinniger, Surveyor-General 1925-26.
  • October 2001 - Surveyor White’s Cairn located on the border of Victoria and South Australia, and roughly 2 hours west of Mildura was rebuilt by local surveyors from Mildura and Renmark and commemorated in a joint ceremony with the Surveyor-General. White’s Cairn is one of the most accessible survey marks along the state border.
  • November 2001 – Commemorative plaque and theodolite sculpture monument dedicated to the surveying of the Victorian South Australia Border undertaken by Surveyors Henry Wade and William White unveiled by Surveyors-General Keith Bell (Victoria) and Peter Kentish (South Australia), approximately four kilometers west from Nelson, Victoria.

2001 was also the Australian Centenarian of Federation, and the Sesquicentenary celebrations were acknowledged by then Australian Prime Minister John Howard as making a very significant contribution. [4][5]

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List of Surveyors-General of Victoria

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References

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