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Werribee Survey Baseline

Location WERRIBEE VIC 3030 - Property No B5778 File Number B5778 Level Regional

[1/1] B5778 Werribee Survey Baseline

Statement of Significance

The Victorian Geodetic Baseline at Werribee was established in 1860 by Robert Ellery, Government Astronomer and Supervisor of the Geodetic Survey of Victoria.
Measured using three ten foot iron rods made in Victoria against the N.S.W. Standard originally obtained from the Ordnance Survey Department of Southampton, the baseline was five miles in length. Located on the plains on the east side of the Werribee River, north of the railway, it was extended northwards to a total of nine miles by triangulation.
The north and south ends of the five mile baseline were permanently marked with sunken masonry piers, having in their upper surfaces a piece of brass carrying a platinum dot indicating the termini of the measure. These marks were then covered with heavy cap stones. The third mark, at the end of the extension to the north, on Green Hill, consists of a sunken bluestone block with a projecting iron spike.
The five mile baseline marks, together with the nine mile mark on Green Hill, are the physical evidence of an important element of the 19th century Geodetic Survey and consequently the earliest maps of Victoria. As such they are vital tangible reminders of the allocation of land during the early settlement and development of the State, made possible by accurate survey and measurement.
Classified: 27/07/1987