Map Group Presentation
Our presenter, Desmond (Des) Diggles has collected images and information of early maps dating from 1540. The earliest shows Australia drawn in 1660 by Pieter Goos entitled, A Map of the East Indies. The earliest map by Cook was drawn in 1773 that showed an outline of Australia. So mapping of Australia's coastline has been around for centuries.
In Queensland, our responsibility commenced with separation 1859. By then, there were several maps produced by private and public agencies that depicted Queensland using a theme mostly based on land ownership.
Des will travel with you through the State's early efforts to the peak of Queensland's hand compiled mapping in the 1980s, progressing into the modern era of digital mapping. He will share with you the styles of maps produced, the people involved and events that took place to arrive at Queensland's digital map output between the 1980s through to the 2000s.
Presenter Biography: Des Diggles was educated at Windsor State School and Kedron State High School. Des left school after completing the Junior Certificate in 1959, undertaking a cadetship with the Queensland Government as a Survey Draftsman. A role that he spent all his working life doing until retirement in 1999. Within the Queensland Government, he was placed in control of the mapping staff and was the inaugural manager of the Digital Section in the Department of Mapping and Surveying. He served on the executive of the Mapping Sciences Institute of Australia (MSIA) as State and Federal president.
Des returned to university graduating in 1991 with a BArts degree from the University of Queensland, majoring in Computer Science, Government and Geography.
As a teenager he chose to enlist in the CMF. He retired from military service at 50 years as a Lt Colonel. His service career was spent in the Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) and Royal Australian Corps of Transport (RACT). His experience included commanding 2nd Transport Squadron, RACT.
Des enjoys writing for pleasure which led him to publishing a mapping history called, Mapping Queensland. He was awarded the OAM in 2011 for his services to Surveying and Mapping. His appetite for writing wetted, Des turned his hand to writing fiction and self-published an Australian murder mystery Wenlock which was released in 2022.
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