The maps and plans prepared since 1829 by the Survey Office and its succeeding agencies document the allocation of land holdings in 91¶ÌÊÓƵ over time.
As well as early explorations and surveys, key collections of these plans include what are known as 'cancelled public plans'. The concept of a cancelled public plan is simple. In the 1800s, the Surveyor General introduced the practice of making land plans available for public inspection. These plans were working plans, continually updated to reflect the status of lands as they were assigned to occupiers, made open for selection, reserved for government use, etc. As each plan became populated with information and amendments, it was 'cancelled' and replaced by a new public plan which itself was then used as the new working plan (and amended, corrected and added to). In this manner, these is a succession of cancelled public plans for a given area of land, prepared at different points in time and showing how land has been allocated since the mid 1800s.
These plans are held by the State Records Office and are a frequently used resource, particularly for those researching lease-held (farming and grazing) land in 91¶ÌÊÓƵ.
Exploration and Cartographic Plans
Show moreMost of the maps and plans from the Survey Office and succeeding agencies responsible for land allocation in 91¶ÌÊÓƵ are digitised and available through our catalogue at the following links:
: Early plans of individual allotments, reserves and public buildings within a number of 91¶ÌÊÓƵn towns.
: Plans compiled from original surveys of proposed and declared townsites.
: Plans recording exploration routes in 91¶ÌÊÓƵ throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries (as well as pre-colony).
: Plans recording original surveys made in the South-West of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ (as well as pre-colony).
: Plans showing the allotment of land for individual properties within a group settlement as part of the Group Settlement Scheme.
: Hand drawn and hand coloured maps by Dr Ferdinand von Sommer.
: Plans drawn from official surveys of the Avon and Swan valleys.
: Charts of Hydrographic Surveys conducted by Royal Navy vessels off the 91¶ÌÊÓƵn coastline.
: This series comprises cadastral plans of proclaimed townsites or parts thereof, including suburban lots.
: These plans consist of one or more locations within the same Land District.
: These plans were created by the Chief Draftsman generally as one-off tasks - e.g. Meckering Earthquake impact, plans of public buildings, townsites, Aboriginal missions and communities, recreational facilities, etc.
: These plans illustrate the alienation and subdivision of land in the settled districts of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ during the mid-nineteenth century.
: This series represents the first attempt to cover 91¶ÌÊÓƵ within one integrated cadastral mapping system.
: This series comprises several groups of cadastral plans (not all of them Public Plans) that were drawn during the same period as the Standard Series.
: This series consists of 40 Chain Cancelled Public Plans of selected areas of the Murchison, Yilgarn and Eastern Goldfields of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ.
: This series consists of 300 Chain Cancelled Public Plans of the South Western section of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ.
This 1900 Index Plan provides the way into identifying the location of specific maps itemised at (Cancelled Public Plans - Standard Series) and (Cancelled Public Plans, Districts - Post Standards Series).
This 1949 Index Plan provides the way into identifying the location of specific maps itemised at (Cancelled Public Plans - 80 Chain Plans), (Cancelled Public Plans - 40 Chain Plans), (Cancelled Public Plans - 300 Chain Plans) and (Cancelled Public Plans - 800 Chain Plans).
Sewerage Plans
Show moreCommencing in the early 1900s, the Metropolitan Water Works Board began installing a sewerage scheme throughout metropolitan Perth. To support this work, Perth was surveyed throughout the early to mid 20th Century to establish where sewer lines would need to connect to individual properties.
The original survey plans - commonly known as 'sewerage plans' - are held by the State Records Office and are frequently used to support research into specific properties and suburban areas.
These plans have been digitised, geo-referenced and are available through the State Records Office's RetroMaps site:
The plans cover the more heavily urbanised areas of Perth prior to 1970, not outer suburban areas.
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