History
of the Royal
Australian Survey Corps
Introduction
Military
Mapping in Australia began in 1907 as a part time activity of the Australian
Intelligence Corps (Citizen Forces).
In 1910, the 'Survey Section, Royal Australian Engineers' was created and raised as a full time unit within the Permanent Forces, to cope with increased mapping tasks. This unit initially consisted of two Australian draughtsmen - Hon. LT Raisbeck and WO Constable, plus one CPL and three Sappers on loan from the British Royal Engineers.
Formation
On July 1st, 1915, the Australian Survey Corps was raised as a unit
of the Permanent Military Forces, in an Order-in-Council which proclaimed
that all members of the Survey Section RAE be transferred to the new
Corps with their present rank and seniority. The unit was commanded
by LT Lynch, with LT Vance as his 2IC.
It is of interest to note that the extract of this Order-in-Council also carried our Corps Motto - 'Videre Parare Est', meaning, 'to see is to prepare'.
World War 1
Of the three officers and 17 other ranks who constituted the Survey
Corps in 1915, all but three other ranks enlisted in the AIF and saw
service in France, Belgium, Egypt or Palestine. Two members (LT Murray,
and SGT Stafford) were awarded the DCM.
The first use of air photos for mapping was made during WWI. Supplementary photography was used to plot trench detail on existing maps compiled by the laborious plane table method (about 1km2 per day).
At the end of the War in 1919, Corps Members on return to Australia were transferred back to the Survey Section RAE. The Survey Corps then remained unmanned until 1932, however military mapping continued throughout the period. In 1927, the RAAF started flying aerial photography to supplement plane table mapping. Because of poor aircraft capabilities, it was not until 1930 that photography suitable for mapping became available, and the first map produced using aerial photographs was of Albury at a scale of 1:63, 360.
When the Corps reformed in 1932, the total strength was 14, but it increased steadily and by 1935 it stood at 35.
World
War II
The Corps entered World War II with nine officers and 41 other ranks.
Total strength reached a peak of 1700, with some 5,500 men being engaged
on mapping tasks during the war period. Corps members served with distinction
in the Middle East, Australian Mainland, New Guinea, Pacific Islands
and Borneo. It was in Borneo where HQ 1 Australian Corps praised the
efforts of our Corps by recording that '...never in this war have Australian
troops been so well provided with accurate maps, sketches and photo
reproductions ...' Their tasks culminated in the production of the 'Instrument
of Surrender' documents. At the end of the War, the Corps had 862 all
ranks serving overseas, who together with mainland personnel had produced
a total of 1419 maps of various scales.
Post
War Development
By mid 1947, Corps strength had declined to 430, and in 1948, the Australian
Survey Corps was granted the prefix 'Royal' in recognition of its services
during WWII. That same year saw the initial establishment of the Army
School of Survey at Balcombe, Vic, on the Mornington Peninsula.
Multiplex stereoplotting equipment was introduced into the Corps in 1952, and was used extensively for over 10 years.
1956 saw army authorities switch over to the decimal scales of 1:50 000 and 1:250 000 in lieu of the 1 mile and 4 miles to 1 inch British Scale series. At about this same time, scribing was adopted as a draughting technique in lieu of conventional pen and ink methods. Ship - Shore surveys of New Ireland and New Britain were carried out in 1956 and 57, and first use of helicopters for mapping was made by Army Surveyors in WA.
Map making was revolutionised in the late 50's with the introduction of electronic distance measuring equipment to field surveying, and in the early 60's, aerotriangulation, electronic computers and modern analytical stereoplotting equipment emerging as important tools for map compilation.
The School of Military Survey move to Bonegilla late in 1965, and about this same time 'Wandering The Kings Highway' was adopted as the Corps Tune.
Defence Cooperation Program / Overseas Service
The 1970's through to 1994 saw a large involvement by the Corps in Australia's
Defence Cooperation program. Survey operations and mapping programs continued
in Torres Strait, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Fiji, the many other areas
in the South Pacific.
A section of the 1st Topographical Survey Troop saw continuous service with the 1st Australian Task Force in Vietnam from 1966-71.
The Corps had further developed into a highly professional and technical organisation employing some of the world's most sophisticated and advanced mapping systems and equipment. Examples include the Geoceiver satellite positioning system; Laser Air Profile Recorder for heighting; orthophoto mapping equipment; cartographic cameras; 2, 3 and 4 colour printing process, and the computer-assisted cartography 'Automap' systems. In Nov. 82, the School of Military Survey relocated from East Bonegilla to Latchford Barracks.
Changing Times
Although one of the smallest Army Corps, the Royal Australian Survey Corps
was one of the most senior, being preceded only by Armoured, Artillery
and Engineers. The strength of the Corps in the mid-eighties stood at
approximately 650 all ranks, including 100 officers.
The completion of 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 mapping programs of Australia had seen the Corps turn to densification at the military tactical scale of 1:50,000. While the printing presses turned at one of the its most productive times, two successive reviews of the Defence Mapping and Charting capabilities were to decide the future path for the Corps. The Byrnes Review of 1988 refocussed the Corps to a more operational role directly supporting the ADF. Much of the Corps' field assets were rationalised and 1 Topo Svy Sqn was raised to support the 1st Division in Brisbane.
The advent of the Wrigley report was to signal the end of the Corps when sweeping government reform resulted in the commercialisation of some of Defence's activities. The mapping activities of the Corps were handed over to a public service organisation. The operational assets of the Corps were considered too small to exist as a separate Corps and RA Svy was disbanded on 1 Jul 1996. A geomatic trade of 170 all ranks was raised with RAE to provide topographic support to the Army.
The achievements of the Survey Corps were threefold. It supported our forces overseas in three of the major conflicts of the 20th Century. It made a major contribution to the mapping of Australia and surrounding countries, essential to their development. Finally, it achieved a reputation of a world standard technical organisation, this last achievement evidenced in the sense of achievement and pride that marks the character of any ex-serving member of RA Svy.
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Last modified 18 April, 2008