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MOUNT MACEDON SURVEY CAIRN

Other Names

SURVEY CAIRN , MACEDON CAIRN

Location

MEMORIAL CROSS LOOP ROAD MOUNT MACEDON, MACEDON RANGES SHIRE

Level

Registered

[1/4]
IMG 7334
[2/4]
IMG 7324
[3/4]
DIAGRAM 2421
[4/4]
IMG 7330

Statement of Significance

What is significant?

The Mount Macedon Survey Cairn, a mortared stone cairn approximately ten metres in height, constructed in c.1860 for the Geodetic Survey of Victoria (1858-72).

How is it significant?

The Mount Macedon Survey Cairn is of historical significance to the State of Victoria. It satisfies the following criterion for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register:

Criterion A

Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history.

Criterion B

Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria’s cultural history.

Criterion D

Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects.

Why is it significant?

The Mount Macedon Survey Cairn is historically significant as an outstanding example of the type of survey cairns that were key to the Geodetic Survey of Victoria (1858-72), the earliest comprehensive land survey undertaken of Victoria. Prompted by the 1850s immigration boom, the Geodetic Survey facilitated the widespread sales of alienated Crown land, broader European settlement of the colony and the forcible displacement and disconnection of Aboriginal people from their traditional lands. The Geodetic Survey also established Victoria’s first reliable survey control network, which is still used to this day. As a particularly monumental, intact, well documented and highly accessible survey cairn, it makes an important contribution to the understanding of the Geodetic Survey. [Criterion A]

The Mount Macedon Survey Cairn belongs in a class of places which are endangered to the point of rarity in Victoria. Although more than 250 stone survey cairns were erected for the Geodetic Survey, many have deteriorated or been lost due to exposure to harsh environmental conditions. [Criterion B]

The Mount Macedon Survey Cairn is notable as a fine and highly intact example of a stone survey cairn. In comparison to other stone survey cairns of its vintage, the Mount Macedon Survey Cairn displays workmanship that is of a higher quality, namely its tapered and monumental composition, the use of mortar and a permanent foundation. [Criterion D]

Group

Exploration, Survey and Events