Person
McDowall, Archibald (1841 - 1918)
- Born
- 2 December 1841
Moonee Ponds, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 13 May 1918
Middleton, Tasmania, Australia - Occupation
- Surveyor
Summary
Archibald McDowall was Surveyor-General for Queensland from 1891 until he retired on 30 June 1902. Born in Victoria and educated in Tasmania, McDowall joined the Surveyor-General's office in 1862 as a commissioner of crown lands. During his forty years service with the office, he made some important contributions to the mapping of Queensland and surveying in general. In 1962 he carried out the first town-survey of Roma, established the foundations of the triangulation survey of south Queensland, modernized surveying techniques by introducing the use of astronomical observations and telegraphic time-signals among other things, and was Chairman of the Queensland surveyors' board.
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Details
Chronology
- 1861
- Life event - Moved to Queensland
- 13 May 1862 - 7 December 1863
- Career position - Commissioner for Crown Lands at West Maranoa with the Surveyor-General's Department
- 1863 - 1867
- Career position - Commissioner for Maranoa
- 1867 - 1868
- Career position - Commissioner for Warrego
- 1875 - 1885
- Career position - District Surveyor for Maryborough
- 1877
- Career position - Introduced the use of the standard steel tape to replace the chain for ground measurements
- 1883
- Career position - Supervised field work which established the Jondaryan base line - the foundation of the triangulation survey of south Queensland
- 1885 - 1891
- Career position - District Surveyor for Toowoomba
- 23 February 1891 - 30 June 1902
- Career position - Surveyor-General
- 1892 - c. 1902
- Career position - Chairman of the Queensland Surveyors' Board
- 1899
- Career position - President of the Queensland Institute of Surveyors
- 1900
- Career position - Member of the Royal Commission into railway extensions in Queensland
- 1 July 1902
- Life event - Retired
Published resources
Book Sections
- Wilson, Paul D., 'McDowall, Archibald (1841-1918), Surveyor and Public Servant' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds, vol. 10 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1986), pp. 261-262. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100255b.htm. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4786434. Details
- 'McDowall, Archibald (1841-1918)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1468112. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 1 August 2005
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education