NRS-20422 | Aerial images - master films [Department of Lands]

Full description

This series contains original films which are aerial images of New South Wales (NSW).

The Department of Lands and Property Information (LPI) and successor agencies undertook aerial photography between 1947 and 2007 with aircraft which were equipped with analogue film cameras. The flight runs across NSW were conducted in five to seven-year cycles to capture aerial images of the state. (1)

The films recorded changes in land and land use over time. They captured and maintained up-to-date cadastral, topographic and other mapping details. The films provided a source for analysis and contextual background for research and decision-making, and supported multiple applications including mapping, site location for emergency services, natural resource management and sustainable land use and development.

The rolls of film detailed the natural and built features in the landscape to be used for mapping and survey purposes. Special orders or frequent development in an area may have increased the number of times an area was filmed.

Each roll had content gathered in one run or flight. This was given a sequential run number which was noted on the canister. A flight report was created for each run. The related Key Diagrams plotted the runs in sets on a map, noting the location at which each image was taken.

Some canisters contain strips of film in envelopes annotated with the names of towns featured in the flight run. This series consists of polyester film stock. Up until the 1980s, most films were black and white on film rolls up to 250-feet long.

In 2007, film ceased to be produced when LPI and successor agencies introduced Orthorectified Digital Imagery and Digital Elevation Data equipment, including a Leica ALS50 (Airborne Laser Scanner), to collect medium and high resolution data across NSW. (2)

To view images see Spatial Service Aerial Imagery.

Endnotes
1.Land & Property Information, Aerial Photos http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/land_titles/historical_records_online/aerial_photos (accessed 30 March, 2015).
2.Land & Property Information, Imagery and elevation programs http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/mapping_and_imagery/imagery_programs (accessed 30 March, 2015).