CONFERENCE OF SUR= VEYORS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 182, 27 April 1908, Page 8

CONFERENCE OF SUR= VEYORS.

o : >•: AUSTRALIA, AND NEW ZEALAND. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR ,i CONSIDERATION. ..,,,, On. 1 Tuesday 'last. a conference of representatives of' the, Surveyors' Boards of' Australia and' New Zealand was opened by the Minister for Lands in Sydney. In 18S3 tho first intercolonial conference of surveyors and engineers affirmed the desirability, of a federation of..the members .of the; profession throughout Australia. This was followed by another conference in 1892, which . recommended- the_, establishment of 'reciprocity between'the. various examining bodies; in tlio issue of certificates to: surveyors. This recommendation took effect from .1895, and at a later conference, in 1897., reciprocity was oxtcnded; ; 'to New Zealand and Tasmania. Simultaneous examinations are now 'held, and regulations are in 'force whereby a surveyor : who has passed the prescribed examination in any of 'the States or Now Zealand can be licensed in any, other State on production of a letter of recommendation from the Board, by which lie was examined. At the 1892 conference ■ the desirability 1 ' of.' tho introduction of the .zone system of timo, now in force, was affirmed. Since 1897 conferences have -been held in 1902 and 1905, at which such questions as the regulations"under which the examinations are conducted, tho subjects of. examination, tho extension of reciprocity to'olier parts of the Empire, and other questions of practice, which have arisen from time to' time, have been debated. AH previous conferences (says the' Sydney '' Telegraph " of April 18) havp been held in Melbourne. At the conference now to bo held irr Sydney; all ■ the States and"New Zealand. will be .represented, and the delegates expected to attend are as followQuecnsA.. A. Spowers (Surveyor-General), •Mr.'F. J. Charlton (secretary and member of Board of Examiners). New South Wales—' Mr. B. M'Donald (Acting-Under-Secretary for Lands, and Acting-Chief Surveyor of New uouth Wales), Mr. T. F. Furber (Metropolitan District Surveyor and Director of "TrigonowetriwlSuryejO;. and Mr. It. H. Cambago (Chief, Mining Surveyor and President of the Institution of Surveyors' of New 'South Wales); Victoria—Mr, J. M. Reed (Sur-veyor-Gcneral), Mr. J. M. Coane (member of wis-Surveyors' Board). Tasmania—Mr. E. A. Counsel (Surveyor-General), Mr; A. B. Howell-(secretary and meinbor of the-Board of Examiners).- South,Australia—Mr. C. J Sanders (Past President of the Institution of Surveyors and- member of the Board of Examiners). West: Australia—Mr. H. F. Johnston (SuiTeyor-General).- New . Zealand— Hon. G.. F. Itichardso!) (Past /President of the Institute of Surveyors). Some important questions (added our 'contemporary) .; will ■;, jeceivo consideration, amongst tliera. being tho endorsement of the resolution submitted by Sir Josoph .Ward - at Imperial, Conference held-in London in 1907, and then carried, urging tho desirability of establishing reciprocity between the respectivo Governments and examining authorities throughout the Empire with regard to the examination and authorisation of land surveyors. A proposal to establish a centra] Board for Australia for the purpose of pre* paring and marking papers and issuing diplomas will also; be dealt with. A good deal of discussion is likely to tako place over some radical amendments of the examination regulations which were proposed at the 1905 conference: and recommended by it for consideration at the next conference to bo held, lhe object of thbse proposed amendments is to provide for students in: surveying being onroHcd and their articles of indenture registered, and to divide the examination for licence .to; survoj' into two parts, the former to bo taken not less than two .Years after registration and tho latter after a further lapso of not less than one year. In addition to the subjects mentioned, questions relating to the.issue of letters of recommendation and licences, also various points of survey praptice;; aro set down for discussion.