Surveyor Generals Corner (or Surveyor-Generals Corner) is the point where the Australian state boundaries of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory meet. [1] [2]
These boundaries meet at the easternmost point of the approximately 127-metre-long (417 ft) section of the Western Australian border with the Northern Territory border which runs east–west along the 26th parallel south latitude to meet the western boundary of the South Australian border. [1]
In 1922 an agreement was signed between the prime minister Billy Hughes, the acting premier for South Australia, John George Bice, [3] and the premier of Western Australia, James Mitchell to set the border along the 129th meridian east longitude and defined the boundary by lines drawn north and south through the centre of the Deakin Obelisk, erected in 1926 near Deakin, Western Australia and the Kimberley Obelisk, erected in 1927, near Argyle Downs, in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. [1] In 1963, when the survey on the ground was continued, it was realised that there was no possibility of these lines meeting exactly at the 26th parallel south. [1]
In June 1968 two monuments were erected at the junction of the boundaries approximately 127 metres (417 ft) apart running east–west along the 26th parallel south. The most easterly monument common to all three jurisdictions was named Surveyor Generals Corner at the suggestion of the Director of National Mapping. [4] The site is not named after a single Surveyor-General, because there were a number of them present as follows. [1]
On 4th June 1968, two concrete pillars were completed to mark Surveyor-Generals Corner in the presence V.T. O'Brien, Acting Director of Lands, N.T., P.J. Wells, Acting Surveyor-General, N.T.; H.A. Bailey, Surveyor-General, S.A.; Harold Camm, Surveyor-General, W.A.; and B.M. Allwright, Surveyor, N.T.
From 7 March 2003, access to the area was restricted following a decision by the Irrunytju (Wingellina) Community in whose traditional land the Surveyor Generals Corner is situated. Access to the area is limited to guided tours and visitors require a special permit in addition to the standard Great Central Road transit permit. [5]
The nearest settlement is the Aboriginal community of Kalka in South Australia, situated on the Gunbarrel Highway just a few kilometres to the south.
There are three occurrences of New Year's Eve at Surveyor Generals Corner (also in Cameron Corner and Poeppel Corner), because it is located at the intersection of three time zones.
| Corners in Australia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Surveyor Generals | Poeppel | Haddon | Cameron | MacCabe |
| States | WA/NT/SA | NT/SA/Qld | SA/Qld | SA/Qld/NSW | SA/Vic/NSW |
The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area being named the Four Corners region. The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous Native American governments, the Navajo Nation, which maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation.
The four corners is a quadripoint near 60° N 102° W where four Canadian provinces or territories meet. These are the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan and the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It came into being with the creation of Nunavut on April 1, 1999.
The Perth Observatory is the name of two astronomical observatories located in Western Australia (WA). In 1896, the original observatory was founded in West Perth on Mount Eliza overlooking the city of Perth. Due to the city's expansion, the observatory moved to Bickley in 1965. The new Perth Observatory is sometimes referred to as Bickley Observatory.
The Wedge is a 1.068-square-mile tract of land along the borders of Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Ownership of the land was disputed until 1921; it is now recognized as part of Delaware. The tract was created primarily by the shortcomings of contemporary surveying techniques when the boundaries were defined in the 18th century. It is bounded on the north by an eastern extension of the east–west portion of the Mason–Dixon line, on the west by the north–south portion of the Mason–Dixon line, and on the southeast by the Twelve-Mile Circle around New Castle, Delaware. The crossroads community of Mechanicsville, Delaware, lies within the area today.
Haddon Corner is a heritage-listed site in Tanbar, Shire of Barcoo, Queensland, Australia. It is in outback Channel Country at South-West Queensland, on the border corner with South Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 November 2012.
The land border of the state of Western Australia (WA) bisects mainland Australia, nominally along 129th meridian east longitude. That land border divides WA from the Northern Territory (NT) and South Australia (SA). However, for various reasons, the actual border deviates from 129° east, and is not a single straight line.
A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other types of named border markers, known as boundary trees, pillars, monuments, obelisks, and corners. Border markers can also be markers through which a border line runs in a straight line to determine that border. They can also be the markers from which a border marker has been fixed.
The 26th parallel south latitude is a circle of latitude that is 26 degrees south of Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australia, the Pacific Ocean and South America.
The Northern Territory (NT) occupies the north central part of the continent of Australia. The Northern Territory borders are to the west with Western Australia, the Western Australia border being near the 129° east longitude. The NT to the south with the South Australian border being the 26th parallel south latitude. To the east the NT with the Queensland border along the 138° east longitude.
The meridian 129° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.
Centre points of Australia are those geographical locations that have been considered to be centre of Australia, as distinct from the extreme points of Australia.
Deakin is a remote locality and is the last railway siding in Western Australia on the Trans-Australian Railway, and the closest to the border of Western Australia and South Australia, which is the 129th meridian east.
Today South Australia's land borders are defined to the west by the 129° east longitude with Western Australia, to the north by the 26th parallel south latitude with the Northern Territory and Queensland and to the east by 141° east longitude with Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria; however, this is not where all borders are actually marked on the ground.
Today the Northern Territory's land borders are defined to the west by the 129° east longitude with Western Australia, to the south by the 26th parallel south latitude with South Australia and to the east by 138° east longitude with Queensland; however, this is not where all borders are actually marked on the ground.
Harold Burnham Curlewis was an Australian astronomer. He was Acting Government Astronomer and Meteorologist in Western Australia from 1912 until his appointment as Government Astronomer in 1920. He held that position until 1940 and is credited with keeping the Perth Observatory open in face of government opposition. The asteroid 3898 Curlewis is named in his honour.
Cameron Corner Survey Marker is a heritage-listed survey marker in the locality of Cameron Corner, Shire of Bulloo, Queensland, Australia. The survey marker is at the border corner of South-West Queensland with New South Wales and South Australia; it was established in 1880. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 November 2012.
Poeppel Corner Survey Marker is a heritage-listed survey marker at Poeppel Corner on the border corner of Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory. In Queensland it is with the locality of Birdsville in the Shire of Diamantina. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 November 2012.
Queensland is the north-eastern state of Australia and has land borders with three other Australian states and territories: New South Wales, South Australia and Northern Territory. To the north of Queensland is the Torres Strait separating the Australian mainland from Papua New Guinea. To the east of Queensland is the Coral Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean. There are many islands off the Queensland coast which form part of the state of Queensland.
The Von Schmidt State Boundary Monument was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.859) on April 26, 1973. In 1873 San Francisco civil engineer Allexey W. Von Schmidt built the State Boundary Monument in San Bernardino County, California, near Needles, California. In 1872 and 1873 Von Schmidt did a survey of the border between California and Nevada/Arizona. The California Historic marker is on the dirt road, Pew Road, also called River Road, 2.6 Miles South of the State Line; 14 Miles North of Needles. The marker is not at the current state boundary, as Von Schmidt made an error in his survey. A new survey in 1893 showed that the Von Schmidt line was 1,600 to 1,800 feet off to the west. The marker is at the southern end of the California-Arizona State boundary. In 1872, a dispute arose between Nevada and California about the location of the state's boundary. Nevada wanted the state divide to be the same as the Sierra Nevada mountain range divide. California wanted the line to the east of the mountain range. When California attained statehood in 1850, it adopted 120 degrees west longitude as its eastern border. Between 1855 and 1900 there were six surveys to locate 120 degrees, with each locating 120 degrees of longitude differently. Von Schmidt applied for and was granted the contract to survey the state's frontier border east of the Sierra Nevada. In 1872 Von Schmidt using only a compass, a sextant and dead reckoning process set out with his crew to define the boundary. Von Schmidt was charged to measure and mark the boundary. Von Schmidt and his crew built stone markers and installed cast iron markers about one mile apart on the length of the state's boundary. Not many of the markers had foundations, so fewer remain today. A new survey in 1893 showed that the Von Schmidt line was 1,600 to 1,800 feet west of the actual 120 degrees. However, California and Nevada both recognize the 1872 Von Schmidt survey and the 1893 survey as the state line. Later the 1893 line was used. The exact location of the north-south California-Nevada border, between Lake Tahoe and the intersection of the southern boundary of Oregon at the 42nd parallel, was contentious and was surveyed and re-surveyed many time. One of the few iron markers that has survived is a near Verdi, Nevada, this is a National Historic Landmark called the 1872 California-Nevada State Boundary Marker.
John Brewer Cameron was a geodetic surveyor in Australia. He is best known for his survey of the border between Queensland and New South Wales. He also surveyed part of the border between South Australia and Western Australia.
A glance at most maps of Australia will tell you something that isn't quite true. The border which runs along the eastern edge of Western Australia is not actually one continuous straight line. [...] The [1922] agreement set out the border as being a line determined by the 129th meridian east longitude. However, the agreement required that the boundary be defined by lines running north and south [...] and in June 1968 two monuments approximately 127 metres apart were erected at the junction of the boundaries.