What is surveying

Surveying may be defined as the art of making measurements of the relative positions of natural and man-made features on the earth’s surface, and the presentation of this information.. (Bannister and Raymond 1984).

Surveyors are trained to measure land and its physical features accurately, and to record these features in the form of a map or plan (Uren and Price 1985).

Land Surveying generally refers to cadastral surveying which is a survey undertaken with the objective of obtaining an accurate and detailed definition of the boundaries of land. Only a surveyor licensed by the Surveyors Registration Board of Victoria may undertake cadastral surveys in Victoria.

Engineering Surveying refers to any survey work carried out in connection with the construction of a particular engineering feature such as railways, roads, pipelines, dams and buildings. It includes the preparation of up to date plans for a project area, determining the area and volumes of land and materials, to ensure that the construction is built in its correct relative and absolute position on the ground, to record the final as-built position of the construction and to provide permanent control points.

Aerial photogrammetry is a type of survey using overlapping vertical photographs taken from an aeroplane.