The Library’s Historical Maps and Plans Collection contains around 8000 maps on microfiche, covering the first sixty years of European settlement in Victoria. This was once one of our most heavily requested maps collections, but these days, you can find it online, thanks to a digitisation project by the Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV).

You might be wondering why these maps are so popular. The answer lies in the remarkable details that lie within them, from descriptions of what the landscape was like when Europeans arrived, to the locations of early buildings and houses, tracks used by diggers travelling to the goldfields, pastoral runs, and even shipwrecks.

There are 48 sub-collections within this collection on a wide variety of subject matter. To follow are some of the popular ones.

Feature plans

Feature plans are a miscellaneous group of maps depicting land that was in many cases, on the threshold of settlement. They offer us unique insights into what an area was like, such as where natural water features like springs, ponds, swamps and lakes were located, what the quality of the soil was like, and the type of vegetation that was growing in an area. 

In this feature plan of Portland Bay (below), you can see that the land has been subdivided, ready for development. The location of several natural ponds have been marked on the map, as has the presence of a burial ground, although it does not say whose burial ground it is.

Feature plans may also show the names of the people who first took possession of an allotment from the Crown. You can see names on allotments in this feature plan of Queenscliffe, below:

Pastoral runs

Pastoral runs show the large areas of Crown Land that were licensed by squatters for grazing between the years of 1847 and 1882. They are particularly popular with family historians trying to trace the history of their ancestors. 

All of these plans show the boundaries of runs and sometimes, they also give descriptions of vegetation and plot the location of tracks, fences, and huts.

In this map of pastoral runs from Heytesbury County (below), the names of pastoral runs have been marked in red with the squatters’ names marked underneath. The map also contains descriptions of vegetation and soil.

Roll plans

These maps were named Roll plans because the originals were very large in size and traditionally rolled up.

This excerpt from a roll plan (below) shows us the localities, names and even building materials used for some of the earliest buildings in East Collingwood. At the top you can see a wooden house called Bedford Cottage. There is a large garden on the block next door. The pub, ‘Earl of Zetland’, shown at the bottom left, was located on Stanley Street. According to the map key, it was made largely of brick, although there was one section made of wood. You can also see the outlines of several outhouses, denoted on the map by vertical parallel lines.

Goldfields

This sub-collection is great for discovering details about the goldfields. You can find information such as where leads and gullies were, the locations of townships, buildings and shops, and also routes diggers took to the goldfields. 

This map (below) shows the route diggers took to get to the Jordan goldfields. It shows where they could find provision tents along their journey, as well as where they could find water and feed for their horses.

Explorers’ routes

These historical plans show the routes that explorers took in Victoria. 

This map (below) shows the location of Yankee Jim’s (later known as Warburton), which at the time this map was published in 1865, had a population of around fifty people. ¹ Sources of supply are marked on the map, including a place known as “Doolan’s Store” (which has all but vanished from the history books).

Coastal surveys

This sub-collection consist of surveys of the Victorian coastline conducted between 1840 and 1870. These surveys were intended to define the configuration of the coastline, describe the structure of coastal vegetation and identify any land occupations.

In this map (below), you can see that the quality of the soil has been noted (“good rich soil”), as has the location of a lake, thick forest, and lime stone ridges.

You can find a complete list of these sub-collections, along with their classification codes (which usually consist of a prefix eg FEATR and then a number), on the PROV website.

In addition to the subcollections above, there are maps on subjects as varied as cemeteries, old and new roads, police reserves, electric telegraphs, water supply routes, railway lines, and many more.  

You can read more about the Historical Maps and Plans Collection, including tips on how to find and download maps, in our research guide: Maps for local and family history. There is also a wealth of information about historical plans on the PROV website.

With special thanks to Blair Gatehouse.

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References

1. Whitworth, R P, 1865, Bailliere’s Victorian gazetteer and road guide: containing the most recent and accurate information as to every place in the colony with map, F.F. Bailliere, Melbourne, p 410