Stitching the Past Together

09/10/2024 · by Mike Douglas

In this blog post, we chat with GIS whiz Mike Douglas, who spearheaded a unique project that has transformed how Artefact approaches historical mapping in NSW.

Here's what Mike had to share about the City of Sydney Historical Maps Project which overlays 120 years of history in the one place.

Image: Mike has edited together hundreds of detailed historical maps into one master.

Charting a New Course

What is the City of Sydney Historical Maps Project?

I’ve created a comprehensive central warehouse of detailed survey maps covering the City of Sydney local government area from the 1830s through to the 1950s. Digitized maps are publicly available through the State Library of NSW and the City of Sydney and I’ve downloaded every single one of them.

I’ve then compiled and geo-referenced each map in a single spot for easy reference and to serve Artefact’s historical mapping needs. The project has streamlined access to these maps while ensuring consistency and accuracy across all our research projects.

How many individual maps have you compiled into one master map?

Each series of maps varies, but for one series, there can be anywhere from 40 to 80 individual maps, sometimes even more than that. I'm currently working on detail sheets from 1885 that cover Sydney from Potts Point to Pyrmont down to Redfern, and that’s about 100 maps.

Each set of survey maps were originally drawn at different scales depending on the needs of the surveyors at the time, by joining them all together spatially and temporally, we can now look at the detailed development history of Sydney with more consistency.

"It's been a six to nine-month effort and I’ve logged hundreds of hours of work. It’s been slow, but the payoff has been huge in terms of efficiency."


Image: The City of Sydney survey map area. 

What motivated you to take on this project?

I wanted to save time and increase accuracy for future projects. Every time we needed to analyse a historic site, we had to re-geo-reference maps, and larger project sites can span multiple maps.  Depending on reference points used and other factors, small inconsistencies can can arise across projects that span multiple years as different sets of historic maps are incorporated throughout the life of a project, so I thought, why not bring everything together into one?

"By geo-referencing everything and eliminating the overlap between different survey sheets, we now have a consistent source for all our historical maps."


Compilation of 1888 survey sheets from Rygate and West.

What challenges did you face in compiling these maps?

One of the biggest challenges was dealing with different scales. You might have a map from the 1860s at one scale and another from the 1890s at a completely different scale. Working with individual maps at different scales can be challenging; by geo-referencing everything and stitching together every map of a given year, I’m able to give us a seamless, year-to-year view of the city's evolution.

We can now look at one detail sheet or multiple sheets simultaneously, which provides a more global viewpoint for our work.


Image: 1938-1950 Civic Survey


How does this benefit Artefact’s clients?

From a client perspective, this project brings cost-saving potential and greater reliability. What used to take upwards of an hour can now be accomplished in 15 minutes or less because all the heavy lifting has been done in advance.

These efficiencies mean clients get a quicker, more consistent product. For larger projects, like major transport infrastructure projects that crisscross the city, we have to assess heritage impacts over a vast area, so having this comprehensive mapping resource for these projects saves significant time and effort.

Coupled with that, the fact that there is now a single clearinghouse means that each map will be positioned once, eliminating inconsistencies as the same map is geo-referenced repeatedly.


Image: Mike Douglas at Artefact's head office in Pyrmont. 

What interesting discoveries have you made during this process?

I live in Potts Point, and it’s fascinating to see how much the neighbourhood has changed. In the late 1880s, the area was filled with massive waterfront mansions, which is a stark contrast to the dense, Art Deco landscape we see today.

Another cool discovery is witnessing how much the shoreline of Sydney Harbor has changed—there’s been a lot of infill over the years, which really comes to life when you see it mapped out over time. It’s like piecing together a massive jigsaw.


Image: Potts Point apartment buildings by Jay Wennington.

What’s next for the project?

I’d love to see this become a more active tool that our staff, and potentially others, can use. Maybe we could integrate it into a website, web-based app, or develop a market for historical maps of Sydney.

This project has made historical information far more accessible to Artefact, and it has so much potential to expand beyond the City of Sydney. In fact I’ve just finished applying the same process to the 1895 City of Parramatta council area survey detail sheets.

North Sydney, Newcastle, and early colonial settlements like Bathurst could also benefit from a similar treatment if the data is available.

"Ultimately, this project is like solving a giant puzzle, and that’s part of the fun for me. It’s also a game-changer for historical mapping work at Artefact as it enhances both internal processes and client outcomes."

Talk to us about how Artefact might be able to help with your next mapping project. Contact Mike via office@artefact.net.au.

Learn about our GIS mapping capabilities. 


Image: Maps in the City of Sydney Archives range from the 19th and 20th centuries and were produced variously by Council itself, other government authorities or private surveying firms and individuals. 

About the author

Mike Douglas has over 15 years of experience collecting, manipulating, and presenting a variety of geospatial data for public and private development projects throughout the United States.

He understands that the clear presentation of data in a spatial context adds an additional level of clarity to its interpretation.  As Mike says, a picture's worth a thousand words.

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