PAUCITY OF MILITARY MAPS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 181, 29 April 1941, Page 6

PAUCITY OF MILITARY MAPS

Position In New Zealand

SURVEY SHEETS FOR HOME GUARD The paucity of maps of New Zealand suitable for military training and reconnaissance is disclosed in a training manual recently prepared for the Home Guard. A section of this publication, which has been placed on sale with the authority and approval of the guard’s Dominion headquarters, is given over to a list of maps available.

According to the manual, the maps to be had for training purposes are the following:— New Zealand Series: Four miles to the inch. These maps show roads, rivers, railways, towns and some spot heights, but are not contoured. Cadastral Series: Survey district sheets, one mile to the inch. Property boundaries are the main features. The large county maps are produced by joining up the districts forming the county and reprinting them. All the main features are shown, but these maps likewise are not contoured. This series also includes 10-chain maps, being half a mile to the inch and reproducing the data contained on the one-mile sheets.

Trig Sheets: These are maps showing the major trigonometrical survey stations only. Bearings and distances of the main stations are given.

Topographical Series: One mile to the inch. Only one sheet was available at the time the manual was prepared. Admiralty Charts: These give the coastline, and offshore soundings, but inland details given are quite unreliable, the manual says. The manual goes on to state: “Most towns, boroughs and so on have town plans on a large scale. A few areas of importance for either strategic or training purposes, have been mapped by the Defence Department, topographical details being included. These are the only maps published with a military grid. Some have been placed on sale. “In some districts, notably Hawke’s Bay, 20-chain and 40-chain contoured topographical maps have been prepared, but not printed. These can be inspected at the Lands and Survey Department Office. They have been drawn from aerial surveys. Tracings from these are excellent training and operational maps. “Automobile Association route maps are the best road maps for transport purposes. They give full information about road surfaces, gradients and so forth.”