What we collect
Maps
See also: Find maps | Using the collection | Ask a librarian
The Map Section serves as the Legal Deposit area for all Australian mapping.
The more than 200,000 post 1900 Australian maps in the collection provide comprehensive coverage of topographic mapping published by the national and state mapping authorities. As well as standard topographic series at large, medium and small scales (in metric and imperial measures), a wide range of thematic maps including soils, geology, population etc. are held. County and parish maps, electoral maps and census maps are particular strengths of the collection.
A significant historical collection of Australian maps (pre 1900) continues to be developed. The activities of a number of early collectors such as Edward Augustus Petherick, Sir Rex de Charembac Nan Kivell, Sir John Alexander Ferguson and Ronald Vere Tooley contributed to the strength and variety of this collection which includes rare and unique material such as the 1659 Doncker sea atlas of the world.
Overseas map collecting is defined by the Library's Collection Development Policy, with an emphasis on regions nearest to Australia, including the Pacific and Asia. Standard topographic, aeronautical and hydrographic chart series are given high priority. A wide range of thematic mapping is also collected.
Early History
From its foundation in 1901, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, in which the National Library had its origins, held a small collection of maps, and atlases. The Petherick Collection, acquired in 1911, was notable for its atlases, including the only known surviving copy of the 1659 edition of the Doncker sea atlas. It also contained the only known copy in Australia of Cook's Directions for Navigating on Part of the South Coast of Newfoundland (1776), as well as a valuable and varied selection of historical maps with an Australian-Pacific emphasis.
While the Library's historical map collection was developing, the topographic mapping of Australia was slowly beginning. In the nineteenth century, the survey departments of the Australian colonies were concerned almost exclusively with producing maps of land registration, and little topographic mapping was done. After Federation in 1901, the Commonwealth began to produce topographic maps, but progress was slow. From 1918 onwards four sheets, on average, of one inch to the mile topographic maps were produced annually.
In 1926, production of the Australian sheets of the International Map of the World began as part of a co-ordinated effort to map the world at a scale of 1:1 000 000. By 1939, nine sheets (corresponding to about one quarter of the continent) had been produced. By this time also, the Hydrographic Branch of the Royal Australian Navy had begun to chart the Australian coastline.
The Second World War and After
With the outbreak of the Second World War, there was an increased demand for maps for defence purposes. Altogether, 342 one inch to the mile (1:63 360) maps had been published in Australia by 1945, along with 230 four miles to the inch (1:253 440) sheets and sixty sheets at a scale of eight miles to the inch (1:506 880).
The Second World War prompted the National Library to acquire a more representative coverage of maps of other regions and countries, particularly those of military importance. After 1945, the Library acquired many British and American wartime maps of Western Europe, North Africa, the Middle East as well as South and South-East Asia.
Many of these maps were based on pre-war mapping by national mapping authorities. Some representation of French, German, Italian and Dutch wartime mapping was also achieved. The war and immediate post-war periods also saw the acquisition of town plans of many British and European cities, and the extension of the Library's collection of British Admiralty charts to cover the world's oceans.
The subsequent development of the collections relied heavily on the acquisition of material from three collectors of particular importance. The Rex Nan Kivell Collection contained many maps of great significance in the study of historical cartography. A particular highlight from the collection is the component of hand-coloured copper-plate engravings of Dutch, French, English and Italian origin. The Ferguson Collection included about 7,000 subdivision and sale plans of Sydney from 1880-1905 and early maps of the Hunter Valley Area. In 1973, the Library purchased from the well-known map collector R.V. Tooley his collection of over 1,500 printed maps (including charts) of Australia. Many smaller collections of maps have come to the Library along with book or manuscript collections, such as the Otley Beyer Philippine Collection, the Daisy Bates collection of Aboriginal material, and the Luce Collection on South and South-East Asia. Generally, the strengths of such collections are in their Australian, Asian or Pacific maps. Lists of most collections are available for consultation.
The National Library Collection
When the National Library separated from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library in 1961, the collection has grown to 62,000 maps. By 2000 it had grown to over 600,000 maps and 2,500 atlases. Cartography and allied disciplines are well covered in the reference collection of books and serials maintained in the Map Section, and a comprehensive collection of gazetteers has been acquired. Aerial photographs in the collection now number over 800,000 and provide an outstanding pictorial record of the Australian landscape during the mid-twentieth century.
Over 200,000 post-1900 Australian maps in the collection provide comprehensive coverage of topographic mapping published by national and state mapping authorities. As well as standard topographic series at large, medium and small scales, holdings include orthophotomaps, topocadastral sheets, and the old imperial mapping series. Thematic mapping such as cadastral country and parish maps, road and tourist maps, electoral maps and census maps are also held for all Australian states and territories.
A small but growing collection of digital maps and spatial data on disk, CD-Rom and DVD is also held and can be viewed on PCs in the Map Reading Room. Access to spatial data provided online by national and state mapping authorities is also avaliable.
Overseas maps and atlases are collected according to the priorities indicated in the Library's Collection Development Policy. Standard topographic, aeronautical and hydrographic charts series and national atlases are given high priority. A wide range of thematic maps is also collected.
Rare Maps
As mentioned, the Petherick, Nan Kivell, Ferguson and Tooley collections form the basis of the Library's considerable resources in pre-1900 maps of the Australian, Pacific and Asian regions. Careful purchases over many years have significantly extended the rare map collections. Facsimiles of originals which the collection lacks are also acquired. Particular attention has been paid to strengthening holdings of maps, atlases and plans of significance in genealogical research, or documenting important aspects of the history of cartography. The Library is always pleased to receive advice of significant maps particularly those depicting Australia or its regions, on offer. Donations under the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program are also most welcome.
Publications
From 1961 to 1989 the Library produced an annual publication Australian Maps, listing maps published in Australia. All entries for 1961-1973 have been cumulated into one volume. The arrangement of Australian Maps was a classified one with several indexes to allow ease of access to information. A Directory of Map Collections in Australia documents publicly available collections and services.
The Library has also published facsimiles of maps from its Tooley, Nan Kivell and modern Australian collections.
Also available, on high-quality microfiche, is a colour reproduction of the Library's unique copy of the 1659 edition of Doncker's Zee-Atlas.