Border Surveying Expedition
My name is Jay Sidhu and I am a 4th year student (Bachelor of Surveying and Bachelor of Commerce Entrepreneurship) of the School of Spatial Sciences, Curtin University leading this year’s surveying expedition through the Nullarbor to the South Australian - Western Australian Border.
The goal of these biennial expeditions is to give today’s graduating surveyors the unique opportunity to practice their skills in the remote/outback areas of Western Australia. It has been proven that participants benefit enormously from the experience and become better surveyors as a result.
As with previous expeditions we will be re-tracing the footsteps of early surveyors. This has a twofold purpose; firstly it enables us to experience in a very small way the hardships the early surveyors endured to achieve their goals; and secondly, as these early surveys have never been re-surveyed, the results will be used by Landgate to both verify the original work and enhance the State Survey Network.
The expedition will leave Perth on 21st June and return about the 5th July 2012.
There are eight students participating, each with individual responsibilities. These are part of our final year projects and are counted towards our graduation. (Projects shown at the end)
The broad mix of projects will provide a range of experiences for the participants including: project management, historical research, cadastral and geodetic surveying, digital scanning and 3D underground mining surveying.
For help with logistic support and mentoring 4 licensed surveyors will accompany the expedition and they will provide their own vehicles at no cost. Additionally there will be camp assistants and 2 Curtin media students to film the expedition. All participants are volunteers and the expedition is wholly funded by industry sponsorship.
PROJECTS:
WA/SA border:
Location of survey monuments south of the Hwy at Border Village and connection to the coast and all adjacent trigs.
New plaque for attachment to SSI monument south of Border Village.
Place plaque and marker at Quarantine Inspection Station for tourist curiosity.
Locate and connect BMs in vicinity of Deacon, tie Deacon to railway. Baseline obs from coast to Deacon Obelisk to ascertain if they project the true border northwards.
Norseman baseline re-‐establishment of South Base mark and locate North Base mark and re-measure. Perhaps consider an historical information plaque in collaboration with the Norseman Historical Soc.
Consider recreating the original primary triangulation network to Mt Thirsty and Jimberlana from the re-‐established baseline. (Including Norseman CORS as a reference station).
Height mods along Transcontinental Railway and update station summaries.
Consider doing a loop trip from Eucla, border track to Deacon, to Forrest (refuel or not), to Eucla with side trip south from Reid to NMF723 (Doppler point) for baselines back to NMF224, Deacon and Eucla CORS. Or AusPos.
Height mods about 1⁄2 way along the Eucla-‐Forrest road, and or AusPos.
Balladonia Telegraph Station, re-‐establish cadastral, scan building.
Re-‐establishment of any part of the original overland telegraph lines ie the coast and/or the inland route.
Madura – old roadhouse/motel/water supply complex (bit like Time Team stuff), and locate the underground tank.
Point of Interest at the fossil quarry nearby.
Cave survey, possibly at Madura Cave and connection to NMF79 including re-‐bserved baselines to adjacent trigs.
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