New South Wales border snakes through the Great Dividing Range, 'a succession of straight lines of as great a length as practicable, without altogether departing from the watershed summit of the Range'.
The Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines and the NSW Department of Information Technology and Management have recently agreed on a set of requirements for new surveys defining the border between the two states. Although the border was defined in the early years of the 19th century, the work was always somewhat controversial, and new technology will allow it to be defined to much greater accuracy.
The border has a long history. In 1822, Commissioner Bigge, who had been sent from Britain to report on the state of the colony of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, recommended that penal settlements be established at points around the Australian coast. These included Moreton Bay, Port Curtis and Port Bowen.
John Oxley inspected the first of these sites in 1823, and as a result, a penal settlement was established at Moreton Bay (Redcliffe) in 1824.
Some years later, in 1839, Lord John Russell (Secretary of State for the Colonies 1839-41) proposed that a new colony be established in Australia for the purpose of Transportation and Secondary Punishment'.
Sir Richard Bourke, the then governor, endorsed his suggestion. Lord Stanley, who succeeded Russell, was also in favour.
As a result, in 1842, the imperial government partitioned the territory of New South Wales, provided always that no part of the territories lying southward of 26S be detached from the colony.
On 10 May 1842, the Moreton Bay District was established under the 1839 Squatting Act. The definition of the district determined, for the first time, the bounds of the district in terms of natural features:
Bounded on the south by the ranges which separate the sources of the rivers Brisbane and Logan from those of the Richmond and Clarence; on the west. (NSW Government Gazette 66 10 May 1842 p. 689)
When Arelian Ewat Gladstone succeeded Lord Stanley in 1846, he lost no time in translating the theory of North Australia into actual fact. Colonel Barney was appointed lieutenant governor of North Australia in the London Gazette of 8 May 1846. In September, Barney set out, in the Cornubia, on a preliminary cruise along the coast to discover the best site for the settlement of North Australia.
Port Curtis was chosen and the official party landed there in January 1847. The first Government Gazette of North Australia, issued on 30 January 1847, proclaimed that all land lying north of 26S should be known as North Australia.
In a letter dated 6 October 1846, the deputy surveyor-general SA Perry, wrote that he had directed Mr Warner in the Northern District to proceed to trace the watershed of the Brisbane and Boyne Rivers, a certain distance on each side, and having ascertained the principal sources of the latter river, to trace it down to the 26th parallel of latitude, then to run that latitude to the coast etc.'
Warner carried out Perry's instructions, and a tree marked on four sides appears on his plan of 1846, M107664, at 26S on Barambah Creek.
When Peel replaced Russell in London in 1846, Stanley's policy on the renewal of transportation was abandoned. Earl Grey, the new secretary of state for the colonies, issued instructions that the new settlement be abandoned.
But the idea refused to die. Presbyterian clergyman John Dunmore Lang was prominent in colonial political life. He was a strong advocate of Protestant immigration to Australia. He was also an advocate for the separation of the settlements at Moreton Bay and Port Phillip Bay from New South Wales. In 1847, he visited England to argue his case.
In an interview with the Select Committee of the House of Commons, he argued that a new colony in northern Aust.ralia would need free, Protestant farmers.
In that same year, he published a work entitled Cooksland, in North Eastern Australia, the future cotton field of Great Britain.
During the next three years Lang remained in England and was able to influence the drafting of An Act for the better Government of Her Honourable Majesty's Australian Colonies 1850' (13 & 14 Vic c 59). Section 34 of this Act allowed for Her Majesty to erect, into a separate colony, territories that lie northward of 30S, provided a petition was received from the inhabitants of that area.
But the selection of a new southern boundary at 30S so annoyed the squatter government in New South Wales that it inserted a special proviso into the Con- stitution Act of 1855 to circumvent it.
When Sir William Denison became governor of New South Wales in 1855, he sided with the squatters. On 11 Nov- ember 1856, he informed Henry Labouchere, the secretary of state for the colonies, about resolutions of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. These recommended a boundary starting from Cape Danger and following the range of hills that separate the district of Clarence River from that of Moreton Bay.
'It should continue along the ridge forming the boundary of the basins of the Richmond and the Clarence until it reaches the Parallel of 29 of south latitude, along which it should continue westward till it reaches the meridian of 141 East ...'
On 26 November 1856, Henry Buckley, John Richardson and Gordon Sandeman, members of the Legislative Assembly for the northern district of the colony, petitioned the Queen. The agitation recently got up against the thirtieth parallel as the proper boundary of the two conterminous colonies has originated chiefly with persons residing considerably southward of that parallel, and particularly with non-resident proprietors in Sydney holding extensive pastoral runs with large flocks and herds in the northern districts, who find that their social and political influence in Sydney would be seriously compromised and diminished if these districts were separated from New South Wales.'
In 1859, Denison and the squatters won the day, and on 6 June 1859 a new colony (Queensland) was proclaimed by letters patent.
The border has three components: the watershed from Point Danger to the Dumaresq River; the river section involving the Dumaresq, the Macintyre and the Barwon; and the 29th degree of south latitude.
In 1862, the colonial secretary in New South Wales wrote to his counterpart in Queensland to initiate a joint survey of the boundary line of the two colonies, from Point Danger westerly to the Dumaresq River, in accordance with the letters patent.
Surveyors Isiah Rowland from New South Wales and Francis Edward Roberts from Queensland were chosen. They were instructed by their respective surveyors-general to survey a practical line of de- marcation on the Earth's surface between Point Danger and the Dumaresq River.
Conditions for surveyors in the field were very different in the 1800s
Surveyor Roberts' instruction from Queensland surveyor-general AC Gregory states that in order to define the watershed, the boundary be marked as a succession of straight lines of as great a length as practicable without altogether departing from the watershed summit of the Range'. Gregory also goes on to say that both surveyors should separately observe the angles and measure the lines with their own instruments'.
Rowland's instructions from his surveyor-general were more general. (Later, in 1864, Roberts complained that Rowland's lines were inconveniently short'.)
The surveyors met at Point Danger in June 1863 to start their survey. They got on well at first. Roberts says in his official correspondence, 'I am happy to say my colleague, Mr Rowland, works very amicably with me.'
This state of affairs did not last very long, A few months later, Roberts states that he could not find many of Rowland's marks and that the marks he did find were not made in a workman-like manner'.
Both Roberts and Rowland used a Gunters chain for measuring their distances. When comparisons have been made between Roberts' distances and later adjoining cadastral surveys, excess has been found. This excess has varied from one to four links per chain.
Initially both men used a circumferentor (compass) for direction, but Roberts later went back on Gregory's instruction and read theodolite angles along the total length of the traverse, from Point Danger to the Dumaresq River.
Starting from Point Danger in 1863, the surveyors marked a rock with their initials, their colony abbreviation and the last two digits of the year. This rock mark was lost at the turn of the century, probably when the Point was quarried.
Angles in the traverse were marked with posts or cairns of rocks or trees. Where a tree marks the angle in the traverse, the shield faced the relevant colony. Where the corner was a post or cairn, reference trees were surveyed.
Rowland finished his survey in 1865 and Roberts finished his in 1866. The field notes for the last section of Rowland's survey have been missing for many years. It is believed that they were destroyed in the Garden Palace fire of 1883.
Examination of the remaining field notes reveals that Roberts and Rowland did not consistently traverse the same lines, and consequently have in part defined the border in different positions. From the commencement of the survey at Point Danger to Roberts' station No. 449 (located near Richmond Gap, north of the present-day town of Kyogle), Roberts' and Rowland's surveys do not correspond.
From Roberts's station No. 450 to No. 1231 the surveys align, except for the occasional additional station of Roberts.
From Roberts' station No. 1232 to the completion of the survey at the Dumaresq River, it is unclear if the surveys coincide, as Rowland's field notes have been lost or destroyed. Why Roberts and Rowland did not survey a common boundary for the entire length of the watershed is a mystery.
There is documented evidence of instances where both men have deviated from the exact definable position of the watershed in the course of their surveys. It appears that Roberts deviated from the exact position of the watershed in order to maintain longer traverse lines.
Examination of plans on public record and searches of correspondence and documentation held by the two governments indicate that both states have adopted the survey by Roberts where he differs from Rowland.
Three sections of the border were not surveyed by either Roberts or Rowland: Mount Lindesay, Wilsons Peak and Bald Rock. Mount Lindesay and Wilsons Peak were not surveyed because the terrain is extremely precipitous. The missing section of Bald Rock was traversed by NSW surveyor Drummond in 1884.
When land was alienated on either side of the border, a buffer strip was often reserved adjacent to the border. This strip was generally a road of constant or variable width or a strip of Crown land of varying status. In most of these surveys there are very few connections to the original surveys. There are, however, some instances in both states where the cadastral boundary coincides with the original survey of the border.
In 1865, a survey to determine the approximate location of the border was carried out by AC Gregory and WAB Greaves, the district surveyor in Armidale. The purpose of the survey was to give landholders in the vicinity of the border an indication of the extent of their leases in either colony.
In the same year, an arrangement had been made between the two colonies for fixing the boundary at the intersections of the Barwon, Mooni, Bokhara, Narran, Biri and Culgoa rivers, to enable both governments to adjust the rents of leases - some of these leases were in both colonies.
The two representatives were appointed, and in October 1865 they met by appointment at Mungindi, on the Barwon. Each had a complete party and equipment. The instruments comprised a 12 inch sextant, with quicksilver trays for astronomical observations, and a six inch theodolite for reference lines.
The position of the observatory was selected for its local suitability, and the difference between its latitude and the 29th parallel was determined and measured off.
The marking of the border was done with steel pins one inch in diameter and two feet long, driven a few inches below the surface; radial reference bearings were taken to trees adjacent, which were marked with a triangle. This process was repeated at each of the rivers, and the work was completed in five or six weeks.
JB Cameron from New South Wales and GC Watson from Queensland conducted the official survey along the 29th parallel between 1879 and 1881. An account by WD Campbell is contained in The Surveyor of 1895.
Queensland plan ML 145 - an early plan of the border region
The final determination for the 29th parallel was commenced in 1879, under the Occupation Crown Lands Branch. The annual report of that branch for the year 1879 said that 450,000 acres on the Queensland border could not be leased until the position of the border was determined.
Preliminary work was undertaken by Mr W J Conder, superintendent of the trigonometrical survey in New South Wales, who observed the latitude of Barringun, a border township on the Warrego River, with a zenith telescope, having a 2 inch objective glass and 30 inch focal length. The latitudes of three other stations were also observed and connected with it by traverse, and the mean of a large number of observations for the value of each station was deduced. The difference in longitude between this station and Sydney was then determined by telegraphic interchange of star observation and clock signals with the Sydney Observatory.
John Cameron, the geodetic surveyor of New South Wales, and George Chale Watson, representing Queensland, continued the work. They started the survey to the west on 15 September 1879, from a point on the east bank of the Warrego River. There the surveyors erected the Zero Obelisk.
The first five mile chord was then produced westerly, and the mile posts off-set from this chord to the arc, until the 141st meridian was reached, a distance of 285 miles 24.96 chains. The latitudes of five stations, averaging 50 miles apart, were also taken with the zenith telescope, with an average error of 1d seconds between the observed value and surveyed line. Every part was chained at least twice, and some portions were chained several times. Posts at every mile marked the line. It was also marked by concrete obelisks at the extremities of the initial five-mile chord and two brick obelisks at Hungerford.
The original post at Cameron corner was replaced by a concrete pillar and was unveiled by the Ministers for Lands from New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia on 6 June 1969.
Following the completion of the survey from Barringun to Cameron corner, work was then continued easterly to the Barwon River, a distance of 199 miles, in the same manner.
Check observations of latitude by means of the zenith telescope were made at intervals of about five miles. The chainage was made by an oval steel wire 2 chains long, carefully adjusted and tested at the observatory. In addition to the squared post at every mile, a smaller post was sunk into the ground every 20 chains, extra large posts being used at the intersections of all main roads, marked with the broad arrow over the words lat. 29'.
Cameron reported on 18 February 1882 that the line passed 68r links north of Gregory and Greaves' steel connection pin on the Culgoa River ... the greatest distance the line was from Gregory's 29th parallel being about three chains on the MacIntyre River'.
A one-ton post was placed on the west bank of the Barwon River to mark the end of the survey. It was marked QL' on the north side, New South Wales J Cameron GS' on the south side and Lat 29' on the west side.
A more detailed account of the work can be found in Redefining the Queensland-New South Wales Border: Guidelines for Surveyors. Copies of the publication can be obtained by contacting either Les Gardner on +61-2-6332-8224 or Jim Hawker on +61-7-3896-3036.
Bill Kitson is the curator of the Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying in the Department of Natural Resources and Mines in Queensland. Jim Hawker is the manager of Survey Infrastructure Services in the same department. Graeme Stewart is a senior surveyor with Land and Property Information in the NSW Department of Information Technology and Management. Les Gardner is the manager of the Cadastral Management Unit in Land and Property Information, NSW.
