Mapmakers of Fortuna : a history of the Army Survey Regiment / Valerie Lovejoy.

Collection type	Library
Author	Lovejoy, Valerie.; Ex-Fortuna Survey Association.;
Call Number	F 358.2099454 L897
Document type	Monograph
Year	2003.
Pagination	x, 234 p. : ill., col. maps, ports. ; 30 cm.
Publisher	Ex-Fortuna Survey Association,
Note	Includes bibliography (p. 215-224) and index. "This book is a history of the Army Survey Regiment from its origins in 1932 as the Draughting Sub-section of the Australian Survey Corps to its demise in 1996. In 1942, wartime brought the Land Headquarters Cartographic Company to Bendigo where it evolved into the Army Survey Regiment, the mapmaking base of the Australian Army and the largest map production factory in the Southern Hemisphere. The book is an examination of the role of the Army Survey Regiment, its technological achievements and the Regi ment's changing character, reflected through the work and social lives of its members, over a period of sixty-four years. It seeks to explain why such a unit existed, and argues that it has made a significant contribution to Australia's development and d efence. It is generally conceded that the purpose of armies is war and most military histories concern themselves with wartime and battles. But in wartime, battles could not be won without a vast reservoir of home support, and for most of the twentieth century, Australia has been at peace. This book examines the Army Survey Regiment in war and peace, arguing that although its importance to Australia has been far greater than that of a combat support unit, the Second World War and Vietnam played a cruci al role in focussing the unit upon its military purpose, and in bringing recognition to the unit. A central theme is the effect of the geographic location in Bendigo upon the unit's development, its achievements, its technological advances, and ultimatel y its disbandment. The book considers the reasons for disbandment and questions whether, far from being irrelevant to the needs of a modern army, this unit could have provided a model for the future. In 1997 Valerie Lovejoy was awarded a scholarship to write the history of the Army Survey Regiment as a research topic for her Master of Arts degree at La Trobe University, Bendigo. "Mapmakers of Fortuna" is based o
Place made	Bendigo, Vic.

Abstract

1. From Little Acorns -- 2. LHQ Cartographic Company, 1942-45 -- 3. Struggle for survival, 1945-55 -- 4. In the footsteps of the Explorers Topographic Squadron, 1955-66 -- 5. Golden years, the Regiment at home, 1955-65 -- 6. Return to the fold, 1965-75 -- 7. Embracing change, 1975-85 -- 8. The last hurrah, 1986-96 -- 9. Epilogue -- Appendices: 1. Hall of fame; 2. Topographic Squadron field surveys, 1957-66; 3. The detachment; 4. CMF increment; 5. Changes in technology affecting the Survey Regiment; 6. Nom inal roll -- Bibliography.