VPRS 18786 Hydrographic Survey Plans

This series comprises hydrographic survey plans of Victoria's coastline, bays and inland waterways. The maps primarily document soundings of the sea floor, recording the depth at various locations. These are recorded as rows of numbers across the plan, usually in uniform lines.  The series also contains a small number of plans depicting port infrastructure and equipment. The maps depict waterways throughout Victoria, but most commonly Westernport Bay, the West and South Channels in Port Phillip Bay, Port of Geelong and Queenscliff. Dredging locations and dredging spoil dumps are also commonly represented in the series. Within the series there are sequences of soundings of the same area taken regularly over months or years, documenting any change in sea depths. There are also a large number of plans that depict both pre- and post-dredging surveys conducted as a part of dredging projects. Some plans depict cross sections of the water and sea floor. Many of the plans also depict locations of marine infrastructure such as lighthouses and buoys. Given the creating agencies and the marine survey functions documented in this series, it is likely a subsequent series to VPRS 18782 Hydrographic Survey Plans, although this is subject to further research. Plans in this series can be identified by location, which is described in the title of each plan, as well as the plan number. The title descriptions were taken directly from information on the plans. The dates listed for each plan indicate the date the survey was conducted, which is often a date range, as well as the date that the plan was approved. Before coming into PROV custody, this series was held for a number of years at the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum.