Guide to the Records of the Hydrographic Department (as filmed by the AJCP)

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M2318-M2337, M2436-M2467

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Created: 2019

Collection Summary

Creator: The Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty (UK)
Title: Records of the Hydrographic Department (as filmed by the AJCP)
Date Range: 1787 - 1956
Collection Number: M2318-M2337, M2436-M2467
Extent: 397 items
Language of Materials: English
Repository: Australian Joint Copying Project
Sponsor: The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) online portal was created with the assistance of the Australian Public Service Modernisation Fund, 2017-2020. The National Library of Australia gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the other foundation AJCP partners, the State Library of New South Wales and The National Archives of the UK, and all other organisations which supported the work of the AJCP, the world's most extensive collaborative copying project, operating from 1948 to 1997.

Introduction

Scope and Contents

Records relating to surveys carried out by Royal Navy warships and surveying vessels in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, including surveys of the coasts and adjoining islands and reefs of Australia and New Zealand. The bulk of the records filmed date from 1828 to 1855, when Sir Francis Beaufort was Hydrographer, but many later letters, reports and sailing directions have also been copied. Among the records filmed are extracts from journals and logs, remark books, sailing directions, reports, letters and survey data books and also selected items from the minute-books 1825-1856 and letter-books 1815-1855 of the Hydrographic Department.

There are letters and reports 1800-1909 from a large number of naval officers, and officials and scientists. Among the more prominent are Sir Francis Beaufort, E.F. Bedwell, Sir Edward Belcher, F.P. Blackwood, H.M. Denham, B. Drury, G.W. Earl, A. Field, R. FitzRoy, M. Flinders, Sir John Franklin, J. Gowland, W. Hobson, Sir Everard Home, Sir William Hooker, F. Howard, J.H. Kay, P.P. King, A.I. Krusenstern, J. MacGillivray, G. Richards, J.S. Roe, Sir James C. Ross, F.W. Sidney, O. Stanley, J.L. Stokes, J. Tuckey, W. Whewell, J. Wickham, T. Woore and C. Yule.

Conditions Governing Access

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred Citation

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Archival History

Material selectively filmed at the United Kingdom Hydrographic Department, England, as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project, 1986 (AJCP Reels: M2318-M2337, M2436-M2467). Original microfilm digitised as part of the AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.

Existence and Location of Originals

United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. Formerly Hydrographic Department, Ministry of Defence, Taunton, Somerset, England.

For further information, see The UKHO Archive (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-ukho-archive#archive-contents).

Existence and Location of Copies

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn8036174] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Finding-Aid Notes

This finding aid is a revised online version of the original finding aid prepared by the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP), published by the National Library of Australia in 2019. The original AJCP finding aids were unpublished typescripts or photocopies available from libraries that held copies of the original microfilm.

Dates used in this finding aid refer to the date range of the records selected for filming rather than to the date range of the Series or Files.

Pieces that were not filmed by the Australian Joint Copying Project have not been included in this Finding Aid.

Advisory Statement

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this Finding Aid contains material and descriptive information which may be considered culturally sensitive and may cause distress, including names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased. This Finding Aid contains terms that reflect authors' views or those of the historical period, but which may not be considered appropriate today. While the information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided in an historical context.

Subjects

Australia: exploration; Beaufort, Sir Francis; Bedwell, E.F., Lieut.; Belcher, Sir Edward; Blackwood, F.P., Capt.; Denham, Sir Henry M.; Drury, B., Capt.; Earl, G.W.; Field, A.M., Captain; FitzRoy, Robert, Captain; Flinders, Matthew, Captain; Franklin, Sir John; Gowland, J., Lieutenant; Great Britain: Admiralty; Great Britain: Hydrographic Office; Hobson, W.; Hobson, William, Captain; Home, Sir James E., 2nd Baronet; Hooker, Sir William J.; Howard, F., Lieutenant; Indian Ocean; Kay, J.H.; King, Phillip P., Captain; Krusenstern, A.I., Admiral; MacGillivray, John; Maps, plans and charts: Australia; New Zealand: exploration; Richards, G., Lieutenant; Roe, John S.; Ross, Sir James C., Admiral; Royal Navy: exploration and surveys; Sidney, F.W., Lieutenant; Stanley, Owen, Captain; Stokes, John L., Admiral; Tuckey, J.; Whewell, W.; Wickham, J., Captain; Woore, Thomas; Yule, Charles, Lieutenant

Bibliography

Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry 246, p92.

Biographical / Historical

The Hydrographical Office of the Admiralty was created by an Order-in-Council of 12 August 1795 which stated that it would be responsible for 'the care of such charts, as are now in office, or may hereafter be deposited' and for 'collecting and compiling all information requisite for improving Navigation, for the guidance of the commanders of His Majesty's ships'. Alexander Dalrymple, who had been Hydrographer to the East India Company since 1779, was appointed the first Hydrographer.

In 1797 the Hydrographer's staff comprised an assistant, a draughtsman, three engravers and a printer. It remained a small office for much of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, under Dalrymple's successor, Thomas Hurd, a regular series of marine charts were produced and in 1814 the first surveying vessels were commissioned. The first Catalogue of Admiralty Charts appeared in 1825. In 1817 the Australian navigator Lieut. Phillip Parker King was supplied with instruments by the Hydrographic Office, but it was not until 1837 that an Australian surveyor, Capt. J.C. Wickham, was issued with detailed instructions by the Hydrographer. Meanwhile a notable Pacific survey had been carried out by Capt. F.W. Beechey in 1825-1828. The period 1836-1860 was the great age of Australian and Pacific surveys, with the voyages of Capt. J. Wickham and Cdr. J.L. Stokes in H.M.S. Beagle (1837-1843), Capt. E. Belcher in H.M.S. Sulphur (1836-1840), Capt. F. Blackwood in H.M.S. Fly (1842-1845), Capt. O. Stanley in H.M.S. Rattlesnake (1847-1850), Capt. J.L. Stokes in H.M.S. Acheron (1847-1851), Cdr. J.B. Drury in H.M.S. Pandora (1850-1856) and Capt. H.M. Denham in H.M.S. Herald (1852-1861)

In 1860, following agreements between the Admiralty and the five self-governing Australian colonies, colonial marine surveys were inaugurated. The Admiralty supplied the officers and instruments and published the charts, while the colonial governments provided the crews and paid colonial allowances. The Tasmanian Government soon abandoned its survey, but the colonial surveys continued in New South Wales until 1870, Victoria until 1878, and Queensland and South Australia until 1880. In 1872 the Western Australian Government made a similar agreement with the Admiralty and a survey was carried out for 15 years. After 1880 British survey vessels were again attached to the Australian Station with the object of charting the remote northern and western coasts, as well as New Guinea and the Pacific islands. This work came to an end in 1915. In 1921 the Royal Australian Navy Surveying Service took over the responsibility of surveying and charting Australian waters. Very little surveying was done in New Zealand after the 1850s until the establishment of the Royal New Zealand Navy Surveying Service in 1949.

Reference: G.C. Ingleton. Charting a continent. (Sydney, 1944)

Hydrographers of the Royal Navy

1795 Alexander Dalrymple
1808 Capt. Thomas Hurd
1823 Capt. William Edward Parry (knighted 1829)
1829 Admiral Francis Beaufort (knighted 1848)
1855 Admiral John Washington
1864 Capt. George Richards (knighted 1877)
1874 Capt. Frederick Evans (knighted 1881)
1884 Admiral William Wharton (knighted 1897)
1904 Admiral Arthur Mostyn Field (knighted 1911)
1909 Admiral Herbert Purey-Cust (knighted 1919)
1914 Admiral John Parry (knighted 1919)

Item Descriptions

Series II. Miscellaneous Papers, 1787 - 1843

19 items

Archival History

Originally filmed on AJCP Reels M2318-M2321.

Subseries Vols. 61-68. East Indies, 1803 - 1836

5 items

Filmed selectively.

East Indies, November 1821 - June 1822 (File Vol. 62 (B2))

1 item

Capt. R. Gore (H.M.S. Satellite). Remarks on passage from Trincomalee to Port Jackson and from Port Jackson to Torres Strait, November 1821 - June 1822 (Item ff.622-28)

East Indies, 4 August 1811 - 7 August 1811 (File Vol. 64 (B4))

1 item

Capt. Beaver (H.M.S. Nisus). Extracts from logs, 1802-1813, including western coast of New Holland, 4 August 1811 - 7 August 1811 (Item ff.329-44)

East Indies, [1803] (File Vol. 65 (B5))

1 item

Capt. W. Kent (H.M.S. Buffalo). Remarks on harbour of Port St. Vincent, south-west coast of New Caledonia, [1803] (Item ff.711-14)

East Indies, 14 April 1825 - May 1832 (File Vol. 66 (B6))

7 items

Capt. J. Lingcome (H.M.S. Larne). Remarks, including Bay of Islands, Norfolk Island, Great Barrier Reef, 14 April 1825 - 14 July 1826 (Item ff.5-6)

Survey of Jervis Bay, N.S.W. made in cutter Dart detached from H.M.S. Crocodile, 1830 (Item ff.205-15)

Capt. D. McKenzie (Minerva Smith). Extracts from journal of voyage to Pacific, December 1828 - February 1829 (Item ff.265-66)

Capt. W. Jervoise (H.M.S. Success). Remarks, including voyage from Hobart to Sydney, January 1828 - August 1829 (Item ff.341-48)

Capt. J. Colpoys (H.M.S. Cruizer). Remarks on anchorages at Achen and Cocos-Keeling Islands, 1 November 1829 - 20 December 1829 (Item ff.415-25)

Abstract of log of Fergusson of passage from Port Jackson through Torres Strait, 19 April 1829 - 11 May 1829 (Item ff.463-88)

Remarks on Cocos Islands, May 1832 (Item ff.561-70)

East Indies, 1 October 1833 - 1836 (File Vol. 68 (B7))

3 items

Capt. G.R. Lambert (H.M.S. Alligator) Remarks, including Bay of Islands, Norfolk Island, Swan River, 1 October 1833 - 13 November 1834 (Item ff.137-52)

Capt. W. Hobson (H.M.S. Rattlesnake). Remarks, including Hobart, Port Phillip, N.S.W., 1836 (Item ff.623-35)

L. Bailey (H.M.S. Zebra). Remarks, including Cocos Island, Swan River, King George's Sound, 15 March 1835 - 20 December 1835 (Item ff.821-26)

Subseries Vols. 69-71. Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, April 1787 - October 1843

4 items

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, 8 April 1787 - 30 May 1830 (File Vol. 69 (Ba.1))

19 items

Principal contents (963pp). Filmed selectively.

Preliminary observations on currents and the ocean by Captain Lowe, 18 July 1822 (Item ff.1-41)

Includes ocean logs from different locations.

H.M.S. Coromandel. Remark book, 13 August 1819 - 2 February 1822 (Item ff.43-55)

H.M.S. Claudine. Extracts from log, 16 May 1820 - 30 May 1830 (Item ff.59-66)

R. Skinner (H.M.S. Dromedary). Remarks, 15 June 1819 - 30 July 1821 (Item ff.67-141)

Remarks on HMS Gramford, August 1815 (Item ff.142-155)

Capt. J. Pasco (H.M.S. Hindostan). Remarks, 20 December 1808 - 6 December 1810 (Item ff.159-67)

H.M.S. Hesper. Remark book, 26 September 1814 - 25 June 1816 (Item ff.172-278)

Lieut. J. Murray (H.M.S. Lady Nelson). Remarks, 12 November 1801 - 23 March 1802 (Item ff.281-404)

Related Materials

Transcript is held at the National Library of Australia, Collection reference: MS 8178 (https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1834634).

Lieut. Phillip Parker King (H.M.S. Mermaid). Journal, 21 December 1817 - 29 July 1818 (Item ff.411-583)

D. Blackburn (H.M.S. Supply). Remarks, 8 April 1787 - 15 May 1792 (Item ff.615-30)

Lieut. H. Ball. (H.M.S. Supply). Remarks, 4 June 1787 - July 1790 (Item ff.631-49)

Capt. M. Currie (H.M.S. Satellite). Remarks, 21 July 1822 - 30 September 1823 (Item ff.663-73)

J. Mitchell (H.M.S. Slaney). Remarks, 1 January 1825 - 30 June 1825 (Item ff.679-90)

Observations on H.M.S. Lyra, 1816 - 1817 (Item ff.695-799)

Observations made with a Dip Sector instrument.

Remark book by J. Oakley, 1 July 1822 - 31 December 1822 (Item ff.805-810)

Observations by Captain Lowe, 9 July 1823 (Item f.815-823)

Sir Joseph Banks to Sir Francis [Hartwell], 26 August 1805 (Item f.827)

Returns manuscript of Lieut. J. Tuckey.

Remarks on most eligible routes from Port Jackson to various places, n.d. (Item ff.831-38)

[J. Tuckey]. Sketch of present state of colony of N.S.W., [1804] (Item ff.839-935)

J. Tuckey to Sir Francis Hartwell, 1 March 1809 (Item ff.937-40)

Financial difficulties; compilation of East Indies directory; seeks appointment.

Phillip Parker King. Notes on Rowleys Shoals, n.d. (Item ff.943-44)

Discoveries made in interior of N.S.W., 30 June 1815 (Item ff.947-950)

Notes on Port St. Vincent, New Caledonia. (incomplete) (Item ff.955-58)

Lieut. W. Longdon. Remarks on Macquarie Island. (incomplete) (Item ff.959-60)

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, 1818 - 14 October 1843 (File Vol. 70 (Ba.2))

23 items

Principal contents (492pp).

Capt. Rennock (H.M.S. Conway). Remarks, 7 November 1832 - 12 January 1834 (Item ff.1-17)

Directions from Investigator Strait to Adelaide (Item ff.19-21)

Remark Book of H.M.S. Conway on the South America Station, 1 January 1835 - 2 October 1835 (Item ff.25-28)

Memoir to accompany four charts of Fiji (Item ff.31-36)

General description of Fiji, n.d. (Item ff.37-47)

Sailing directions for New Zealand, n.d. (Item ff.49-56)

Sailing directions for Gulf St. Vincent (Item ff.57-60)

W. Jeffery (H.M.S. Tortoise). Remarks, 13 June 1841 - 14 October 1843 (Item ff.61-84)

Capt. R.S. Dundas (H.M.S. Warspite). Remarks, 21 December 1826 - 2 November 1827 (Item ff.87-111)

Pacific islands discovered by ship Rebecca, 1820 (Item ff.113-15)

Loss of Venus on Alert's Reef near Torres Strait, 1 July 1826 (Item ff.117-18)

Alert's Reef, North East Coast Australia, 1826 (Item ff.120-126)

Newspaper Clipping from Morning Herald, 1 March 1816 (Item f.129)

Details of a ship wreck by Captain Morris of Duke of Bedford (Item f.131-133)

Extract from the Logbook of the Schooner Prince Regent, 21 September 1828 (Item f.135)

Commander Salmon on a speculative voyage for Beech de mer, in 1827 from Sydney N.S. Wales. Extracts from January 6th 1827 to April 28th 1827.

Records of Longitude and Latitude, 1807 (Item ff.139-140)

'River Derwent - Van Diemen's Land', Hobart Town Gazette, 10 October 1827 (Item f.145)

Hand written copy of article from newspaper.

'A supposed river on the East Coast of Australia', The Australian, 24 October 1827 (Item f.144)

Hand written copy of article from newspaper.

'Port Davey - Van Diemen's Land', The Monitor, 26 March 1828 (Item f.145)

Handwritten copy of newspaper article.

'Stewart's Harbour and Storm Bay - Van Diemen's land', Hobart Town Gazette, 27 February 1828 (Item f.146)

Handwritten copy of article from newspaper.

Capt. R.S. Dundas (H.M.S. Volage). Remarks, 21 September 1825 - 20 December 1826 (Item ff.149-70)

W. Johns (H.M.S. Rainbow). Remarks, 1 April 1828 - 30 September 1828 (Item ff.175-82)

Capt. T.F. Gordon (H.M.S. Pandora). Remarks, 26 April 1829 - 16 October 1829 (Item ff.185-92)

Extract from The Times regarding H.M.S. Sherwood, 15 June 1830 (Item ff.195-196)

About Penny Charlotte voyage.

Chronomatic measurements for H.M.S. Warspite from Port Jackson, 1827 (Item f.197)

J. Fraser. Remarks on passage from Port Jackson through Torres Strait, 1829 (Item ff.199-214)

W. Cooling. Remarks on Melville and Bathurst Islands (Item ff.215-28)

Abstract from the Log Book of the Big 'Guide', 1830 (Item ff.231-234)

W. Fisher. Sailing directions, Bay of Islands (Item ff.235-36)

Capt. E. Yonge (H.M.S. Volage). Remarks, 21 December 1826 - 13 March 1827 (Item ff.237-43)

Lieut. C. Jeffreys. Remarks on coast of N.S.W. and adjacent islands, 1818 (Item ff.245-340)

Capt. R. Towns. Remarks on passage from Port Jackson through Torres Strait, 1829 (Item ff.345-69)

Includes map on f.369.

W. Johns (H.M.S. Rainbow). Remarks, 1 October 1828 - 31 August 1829 (Item ff.375-86)

W. Johns (H.M.S. Rainbow). Remarks, 1 March 1827 - 30 September 1827 (Item ff.389-401)

Capt. C. Mitchell (H.M.S. Slaney). Remarks, 1 July 1825 - 31 December 1825 (Item ff.405-7)

'Loss of the ship Valetta,' newspaper cutting, 19 August 1826 (Item f.409)

J.W. Armstrong (H.M.S. Volage). Remarks, 1 January 1827 - 1 July 1827 (Item ff.411-41)

J. Huntley (H.M.S. Champion). Remarks, 3 August 1826 - 17 January 1827 (Item ff.447-48)

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, 6 February 1826 - 31 March 1828 (File Vol. 70 (Ba.2))

4 items

Principal contents (492pp).

J. W. Armstrong (H.M.S. Volage). Remarks, 1 July 1826 - 31 December 1826 (Item ff.451-59)

Remarks on Port Jackson from H.M.S. Balage, 6 January 1827 - 15 January 1827 (Item ff.463-466)

G. Rose (H.M.S. Pandora). Remarks, 12 December 1827 - 31 March 1828 (Item ff.467-73)

R. Kilroy (H.M.S. Success). Remarks, 6 February 1826 - 8 February 1827 (Item ff.475-84)

W. Johns (H.M.S. Rainbow). Remarks, 10 September 1826 - 17 February 1827 (Item ff.487-92)

Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific: Miscellaneous correspondence, remark books and reports, 18 June 1813 - 29 May 1840 (File Vol. 71 (Ba.3))

Includes:Sailing Directions for ports on Northwest side of Tahiti; sailing directions for Port Lincoln 1840; Remarks on Kiapara Harbour; Remark books for H.M.S. Alligator (Sept. 1831-Sept. 1832; Nov. 1834-Aug. 1836), H.M.S. Blonde, H.M.S. Melville (Sept. 1831-Sept. 1832; April 1834-July 1835), H.M.S. Imogene (July 1832-June 1833), H.M.S. Victor (1836), H.M.S. Conway (Dec. 1836-Feb. 1838), H.M.S. Zebra (Feb.-Nov.1832), H.M.S. Hyacinth (1834-1835), H.M.S. Challenger (1829), H.M.S. Dauntless (Jan. 1821-Dec. 1822), H.M.S. Sulphur (Nov. 1828-Dec. 1830), H.M.S. Seringapatam (April-May 1830), H.M.S. Curfew (July 1831-July 1832), H.M.S. Raleigh (1835) and other unknown vessels; Report on islands in Pacific (1831) by Captain Fitzgerald; correspondence between S. Ashmore and Capt. F. Beaufort regarding charts of Torres Strait July-August 1835; extract from journal of Eliza Scott on voyage towards South Pole (Feburary to March 1839); Observations and field book of survey of N.S.W. Coast by J. Oxley; Passage of Joeseph Winter through Torres Strait May-June 1831; Extracts from journal of Captain Charlton (Sophia) March 1829 – March 1830; extract from ship log of Layton; Perth Gazette and West Australian Journal December 1833; Index to islands in Pacific Ocean 1828; Report of Survey on the Inner Harbour of Port Louis September 1831; miscellaneous letters.

Subseries Vol. 107. Remark Books, July 1813 - December 1828

4 items

Filmed selectively.

Capt. W. Black (H.M.S. Racoon). Remarks in Pacific. (93pp), 9 July 1813 - 10 January 1815 (File)

Capt. T. Coe (H.M.S. Tees). Remarks. (8pp), 1 July 1823 - 30 June 1824 (File)

Capt. J. Laws (H.M.S. Satellite). Remarks. (67pp), 26 November 1827 - 31 December 1828 (File)

Capt. J. Stirling (H.M.S. Success). Remarks. (20pp), 6 February 1826 - 8 August 1827 (File)

Mr Ian Nicholson (Log of Logs) advised that the log extracts refer to the Caroline Islands not Torres Strait as the Hydrographic Dept schedule seems to indicate.

Subseries Vol. 108. Remark Books, January 1829 - June 1833

6 items

Filmed selectively.

Capt. J.W. Montagu (H.M.S. Crocodile). Remarks. (31pp), 17 August 1829 - 26 July 1830 (File)

Capt. W. Waldegrave (H.M.S. Seringapatam). Report of tour of South Sea Islands. (18pp), March 1830 - June 1830 (File)

Capt. R. Pridham (H.M.S. Zebra). Remarks. (10pp), 25 January 1829 - 31 January 1830 (File)

Capt. J. Montagu (H.M.S. Crocodile). Hydrographical observations. (53pp), 7 August 1829 - 26 July 1830 (File)

Capt. C. Fremantle (H.M.S. Challenger). Remarks. (19pp), 1 January 1832 - 12 June 1833 (File)

I. Mowle (H.M.S. Imogene). Remarks. (8pp), 16 October 1832 - 30 June 1833 (File)

Series III. Pre-1857 In-Letters, 1816 - 1864

13 items

Filmed selectively.

For a more detailed list see the available supplementary material.

Archival History

Originally filmed on AJCP Reels M2322-M2324.

Subseries A. Correspondence Prefix A, 1816 - 1856

Principal correspondents include:G. Airy; G. Alexander; W.H. Allen & Co.; H. Amsinck; T. Andrews; J. Arnold; G. Arthur; F. Beaufort; T. Hurd; J. Washington.