82

SURVEY.

THE following Report of the Chief Surveyor is published for general information:—

Survey Office,
Dunedin, 30th August 1860.

SIR,—I have the honour to forward enclosed Return of Field Work executed by the Survey Department during this last season, ending 30th June. On referring to it, it will appear that seven hundred and ninety-two square miles have been prepared for Section Survey by Triangulation and Main Circuit Survey. Twenty-nine thousand five hundred and seven acres have been surveyed into Rural Sections. Eight hundred and seventy- -five Quarter-acre Sections have been surveyed in Towns, besides extra work as noted in column 4—principally confined to taking the levels of the Town of Dunedin—have been executed; the total cost of which has amounted to £4683 16s 11d.

The cost of the work of each Surveyor, I find that in Minor Triangulation the expense stands as follows:—

Alexander Garvie, 120 sq. miles at 43s. 6d., or 8-10ths of a penny per acre
Mr. Hately's work does not admit of a fair comparison, as a great part of his work was confined to Main Circuit Survey,—a more expensive process than Minor Triangulation. His return is 117 square miles at 121s. 8d., or 2 3-10ths pence per acre.

The contract of Mr. Mountfort is entirely Main Circuit Survey, 125 square miles at 160s., or 3d. per acre.

Rural Section Survey (80 acres) stands as follows:—

James M'Kerrow, 7807 acres, at 10½d. per acre
James Moran, 10,700 acres, at 8d. per acre
C. B. Shanks, 11,000 acres, at 8d. per acre.

Town Section Surveys (quarter-acre) stand as follows:—

Edwin Fairburn, 790 sections, at 7s. 1d. per section.

To the extent of work returned by Mr. Hately, its moderate cost, and its style of execution. I would solicit your Honor's favourable attention; and I may do this without detracting from the merits of the other gentlemen,—Mr. Garvie having to resign owing to ill health, and Mr. England having only entered the service in January.

The extent of work returned by Mr. Hately being small, in justice to that officer I must state that his country being level, marshy, and obstructed with bush, he was forced in a great measure to have recourse to the slow operation of Traverse Circuit instead of Triangulation.

Of Mr. Mountfort—not being in the service, it would be out of place for me to make any remarks, further than I understand that his contract, though not delivered in, has been completed; it therefore has been placed in this return.*

As the cost of the Rural Section Surveys of Messrs. M'Kerrow, Moran, and Shanks are above the average, it is due to them that I should mention that all entered the service in December and January. Their operations were on very rugged country; and Mr. Shanks especially had much obstruction to encounter from contact with privately surveyed allotments, whose boundaries, often obliterated and frequently not correct, he had to resurvey and re-adjust. I have no doubt that these officers will give a better account of themselves this coming season.

The cost of work returned by Mr. Fairburn is also above the average: the cause I assign to his late entry into the service (March) with all the troubles and difficulties at first encountered in this Province by strangers. He, with all the lately appointed Surveyors—excepting Mr. England, who took over Mr. Garvie's—have the cost of original equipment set against their work, which will be available next season.

While the return does not show so large an area surveyed into sections as I should have desired, yet it may be mentioned that the extent prepared by triangulation is great. This will permit of a large number of surveyors to proceed in a systematic manner with section surveys in separate districts most requiring settlement of claims. The evils of erratic or spotting surveys have been acknowledged and stopped by the Government, excepting in certain confined limits, and the regular survey being instituted, will enable the operations now to go on more rapidly and satisfactorily than heretofore. It will also be observed that there has been less extra and desultory work thrown on the department this year, and which so much retarded progress hitherto.

The measures for this coming season I would respectfully suggest as follows:—

In the South-eastern districts, one Surveyor to proceed with the Triangulation of the country, and two to go on with Rural Sections.

In the North districts, one Surveyor to proceed with the Triangulation, and two to go on with Rural Section, after the Town Sections of Campbelltown, Riverton, and Wallacetown are completed. In the Northern District, one Surveyor to proceed with the Triangulation, and three to go on with Rural Section Survey, after the Town Sections of Oamaru, Kuri, and Waikouaiti are completed. The number of Surveyors required will be ten: three for Triangulation, five for Rural Sections, and two for Town Sections. With this staff we will be able to complete 600 to 700 square miles of Triangulation, 100,000 to 150,000 acres of Rural Sections, and 6000 to 7000 Town Sections.

Of the work of the Private Surveyor I need say little, as my duty is simply confined to recording it. The extent so recorded amounts to 3163 acres. Much of the objectionable private survey has been removed by their being confined to special districts separate from those surveyed by the Government staff. Their work also is now subject to the check of Triangulation.

The beneficial effects of systematic survey are apparent and seen in the field work and working maps returned to this office, but in the documents prepared from these. In connection with this I feel much gratification in referring to the Crown Grant Record Maps prepared by Mr. Reid, both as regards their superior style of execution and permanent value to the landholders of this Province. These form the authentic groundwork of all titles to land—plain, intelligible, and easily referred to, and however little they may at present be known or availed of, I feel assured that they will be of intrinsic service at a future time in the preservation of land titles.

I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
J. T. THOMSON, Chief Surveyor.
His Honor JAMES MACANDREW, Esq.,
Superintendent of Otago.

• The Contract is not yet completed, but plans of 54,000 acres have been given into this office. 30th August 1860. J. T. T.