A REAL SURVEY

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 23, 27 July 1934, Page 4

A REAL SURVEY

AUSTRALIA'S WEALTH

AEROPLANES TO OPERATE

PLANNING THE FUTURE

Tho decision of the Federal Government, in co-operation with.the Governments of Queensland and Western Australia, to begin the development of the northern half of the continent by means of. aerial survey, is one that is gratifying to all who wish to see our empty spaces made productive by the surest and most expeditious methods, writes E. W. Searle in the <( Sydney Morning Herald." .

Aerial photo-survey as practised today is based on wartime experience, when the potentialities of the air photograph for military observation purposes were brought into the realms of practicability by tho increased efficiency of aircraft and the exigencies of trench warfare. Not only were enemy 'defence systems outlined with absolute accuracy by this method, but trained observers were quick to interpret many signs and portents by a minute examination and comparison of successive photographs. Reinforcements might be brought up under cover of darkness for an impending attack; guns and ammunition dumps might be. skilfully disguised by the art of camouflage, but the camera eye could still register the tracks of passing troops and denote the apparent growth of scrub today where none grew yesterday. And so, from the holocaust of war, emerged a new method of exploration that has been so successfully applied to the arts of peace. The problems facing the Australian Governments of today is the need for the rapid development and population of this continent's empty spaces. The problem is not now, but its urgency increases with the years, and our existence as a nation upholding the ideals we have set before us depends ou the energy we devote to the task and the means employee) to develop. our resources economically and efficiently. Contrary to popular belief, thousands of square miles, in Australia are still untrodden and unmapped; The general character of the interior as waterless and forbidding is recognised; but to place it in the category of waste lands is unjustified. AT THE GRANITES. ' The tragedy of the Granites is still fresh in the memory,, but many, of us still recall 'the early days of Coolgardie and the discovery of Kalgoorlie, The long trail to those fields was marked, by tragedies of thirst and exhaustion, to which the Granites rush was the faintest echo; but, In the former case, endurance and hardship for many was rewarded with ultimate success/ and on tho basis of payable gold the desert was rolled back for hundreds of miles. Recurrently we hoar fantastic tales of the interior; of lost reefs holding fabulous wealth, and by ones and twos an army- of men have staked their lives on the hazard: of a rumour and the lure of gold. ' Primitive methods of exploration will not sufficetpday. Burke and Wills have struggled across Australia with desperate courage, leaving their bones and some pencilled notes as legacy to posterity. Leichhardt marched into the unknown interior, to Iqave nothing but a memory of brave endeavour. Valuable as their work was as a contribution to .knowledge, today their combJiVed efforts could bo eclipsed in a month »8 flvtng, and the camera record could be" osiamined. leisuroly ;and 'in detail' by experts "iv each / branch of science concerned in the economic development of the country's resources. It is customary to talk in a rather glib way of our potential wealth, but without recourse to modern survey methods to ascertain where that wealth lios and how it can most profitably be developed, we may just as well boast of the potential wealth of the Pacific sea-floor." ■ ' ■■' ■ . Aerial photographic survey has long passed, the experimental stage, and its value has been ; demonstrated and ex* plbited in other countries within the Umpire where conditions approximate to the unmapped.and undeveloped areas of Australia. Canada and .Rhodesia may be quoted' as typical instances where vast spaces are being mapped and surveyed from the air as a preliminary to organised plans for exploitation and settlement. -. BETTER TECHNIQUE. : ' The technique of air-mapping has "been considerably improved since war days; Improved apparatus, designed to meet tho requirements of extreme accuracy and precision, new optical designs in lenses, and increased efficiency in sensitive photographic emulsions have each contributed to the science as practised today. Briefly described, the procedure adopted, after establishing the necessary ground controls, is to fly at a pre-determined altitude, in a perfectly straight Hue, whilst the camera, •mounted vertically in the floor of tho aeroplane, records a succession of overlapping photographs of the ground covered on the flight. Parallel strips of country are photographed in this manner, until the whole area to be mapped has been covered. The finished prints are afterwards joined up in mosaic form, and a graphic representation of the country,, showing the most minute detail, is thus produced for subsequent interpretation, • The work contemplated at present by the combined Governments js mainly of | a geological nature, but, properly inter- i proted, tho aerial photo-map will supply! data on almost every subject involved in opening new territories. , Something more than a purely topographical or measurement survey is required in planning development work, and a complete economic survey would include tho provision of data relative to geology, forestry, agriculture, pas* turage, water-supply, and road and rail engineering, in addition to the topographical requirements necessary for directing travel in a now territory. The latter aspect is really the least important factor in the initial stages of development, and the local accuracy that an airrphotograph supplies is of more value than tjje exact position of a point in latitude and longitude. It is a: curious fact that the most important data of a general character is more immediately obtained from the viewpoint of the aeroplane than from an intimate ground survey; and this is more evident in virgin than in settled lands, where artificial changes have been wrougbtMINEBALS AN© CROPS, A comparative study of types of native vegetation indicates the suitability of the soi) for various crops. From the same indications the geolo. gist deduces the surface formation and ,the_ lines of . demarcation between varied} areas.'* Ha also locates outcrops suitable for mineraj prospeating and for the formation of possible oilfields. The extent and value of timber tracts snd pasture lands are readily ascertained by respective experts, and when properly assessed, the engineer can plan how best to tap this wealth by roads and rail tracks, giving due consideration to the contour and the physical features of the country. To secure similar results by ordinary ground survey would take years of arduous labour, and would .in no way approximate in value as a • means whereby scientists and engineers coulcj visualise the actual conditions existing in these vast spaces, The value and gltiniate use to which these northern lands can profitably- be gut are matters of cliverse opinions

based on. incomplete knowledge. It is possible by an exhaustive aerial survoy to place the matter-outside the field of conjecture, and, by definitely defining the barren and worthless sections, to concentrate on the exploitation of the fertile coastal belts, the pasture areas, and those parts showing indication of mineral or oil bearing. A brief consideration of the matter is necessary to see that a complete air survey, has a more important- bearing on the futuro prosperity of Australia than any other work that could at present be undertaken. Science has already made productive what were formerly Arctic wastes or disease-scourged tropicE, and only by the application of modern scientific methods can our own-country be made a secure and valued section of the Empire.