John Rogers ISO (1898-1971)

Commonwealth Surveyor General, Director of National Mapping, and Chairman of the National Mapping Council

By Laurie McLean

John Noble Core Rogers

XNatmap image courtesy Paul Wise
Additional photographs may be viewed via this link

Jack Rogers was the Commonwealth Surveyor General from 1949 until his retirement in 1963.  Jack was also the second Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council.  He served in these national mapping positions from 1949 to 1951.  After May 1951, Jack continued to be a member of the National Mapping Council in his capacity as Commonwealth Surveyor General until his retirement.

Taylor (2002) noted that for the most part Jack Rogers was quiet and reserved in manner, but he had an alert and clear mind and the ability to get to the crux of problems without fuss.  While he pulled no punches in expressing his views, he remained forever the gentleman.  It will become apparent to the reader that with the high-level positions he was appointed to, Jack must have been a man of considerable ability and who was appreciated as a steadying hand in various complex endeavours.

The relatively short term of his national mapping appointments belies Jack Rogers’ considerable personal involvement in national mapping activities including during the formation of the National Mapping Council in 1945 and as Assistant Commonwealth Surveyor General from 1946.  As detailed later in this article, Jack was involved in the formation of the Council and attended Council meetings from 1945 until 1963 in various capacities.  Jack last attended a meeting of the National Mapping Council as an observer in October 1970; 12 months prior to his death.

Unfortunately, another outcome of his relatively short tenure as Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council is that Jack Rogers’ considerable contribution to Australia’s post World War II national mapping effort now tends to be overlooked.  Indeed, some later members of the national mapping community have hitherto remained unaware of him and the important role he played in this effort and in various other important endeavours. 

To some extent, Jack Rogers was overshadowed by both his predecessor and successor in national mapping activities; both of whom are now more readily recalled.  The inaugural Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council was the then Commonwealth Surveyor General and Chief Property Officer Frederick Marshall (Freddie) Johnston (1885-1963) who served in these national mapping-related roles from formation of the Council in early 1945 until his retirement in February 1949. 

In 1951, following a restructure within the Department of the Interior, Jack Rogers’ roles as Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council passed to Bruce Philip Lambert OBE (1912-1990).  Lambert, an Australian Survey Corps officer during World War II, had been appointed as Deputy Director of National Mapping early in 1946.  Lambert continued as Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council until his retirement in 1977.

This article aims to acquaint members of the national mapping community and other readers with the life and dedicated public service of John Noble Core Rogers.  The article is by no means a complete biography of its subject.  It was compiled from researching various publicly available documents and XNatmap records and with the generous assistance of Ken Green who kindly provided information from the New South Wales historical surveyors’ research project of which he is the editor, namely: Surveying New South Wales-The Pathfinders the Seniors Group, Institution of Surveyors NSW, Inc (© B McCloskey, W Moore-Ed K Green).

The article says little on some aspects of JNC Rogers’ life; particularly the early and later family phases.  But nevertheless the article seeks to provide the reader with a useful picture of Jack Rogers.  Along the way, this article necessarily discusses aspects of the post-war development of Canberra where Jack Rogers lived over some four decades and was greatly involved in the city’s growth.

The early days

John Noble Core Rogers was born on 7 October 1898 at Newtown in inner-western Sydney.  Jack was the eldest child born to Henry Havelock (Harry) Rogers and his wife Robina Violet (Rubie) née Carter.  Both of Jack’s parents were born in Victoria.  They married at Newtown on 22 September 1897; for more details please refer to Appendix A.  Harry Rogers’ occupation was insurance inspector.  Around 1918-1919, the Rogers family resided in Arnold Street in the northern Sydney suburb of Killara.  Other known Rogers family residential locations between 1903 and 1949 are provided in the table below.

Jack Rogers was an Old Sydneian, educated at Sydney Grammar School, an independent secular school for boys located in College Street Darlinghurst.  Sydney Grammar School was particularly patriotic during World War I in which many Old Sydneians served.  For example, Harold Newnham Penrose Sloman MA (Oxon) (1885-1965) was headmaster of SGS from 1913 to 1920.  In 1916 he served on the censorship staff in Sydney and from early 1917 served as a Lieutenant in the British Army with the 11th (Service) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.  In September 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross for his leadership during an action in France in which he was wounded.

In October 1916 correspondence to the Secretary of the New South Wales Board of Surveyors it was noted that Jack Rogers had sat for the Intermediate Examination during May 1914.  He passed the following Intermediate subjects: History, Maths I-II, Geography, Physics, and Chemistry.  In 1915 Jack sat for the Senior Examination subjects of: Geometry, Plane Trigonometry, History of Europe, Geography, and English (Green, 2016).

Henry Havelock Rogers and others electoral roll information

Year	Person and Address Details	Occupation
1903	Henry Havelock Rogers, Tyron Street Gordon	Inspector
1913	Henry Havelock Rogers, Lorne Street Killara	Inspector
	Rubina (sic) Violet Rogers as above	Home Duties
1931	Henry Havelock Rogers, 15 Findlay Avenue Chatswood	Inspector
	Robina Violet Rogers, as above	Home Duties
	Janet Isabel Noble Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1933	Henry Havelock Rogers, 15 Findlay Avenue Chatswood	Inspector
	Robina Violet Rogers, as above	Home Duties
	Janet Isabel Noble Rogers, as above	Home Duties
	John Noble Core Rogers, as above	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1949	Henry Noble Rogers, Sydney Road Roseville	Insurance inspector
	Henry Havelock Rogers, 177 Pacific Highway Roseville	Insurance inspector
	Robina Violet Rogers, as above	Home Duties

Source: Australian Electoral Commission electoral rolls for years cited.

World War I service

With the permission of both of his parents, Jack Rogers enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at age 19 years and 9 months.  He had previously spent some three years in the cadets at Sydney Grammar School.  Jack enlisted on 25 June 1918 at the Central Enlisting Depot at the corner of Liverpool Street and Elizabeth Street in Sydney’s Hyde Park; his service number was 91616.  At the time of his enlistment Jack’s occuption was surveyor’s assistant and he resided at Arnold Street Killara as did his parents. 

Jack Rogers reported for duty at the Recruit M & D Depot at Liverpool on 15 July 1918.  On 1 August 1918 he was posted as a private to the the Composite Battalion.  Jack was passed as fit at a pre-embarkation examination on 24 October 1918.  However, he did not proceed on overseas service.  Following the Armistice that ended hostilities on the Western Front on 11 November 1918, Jack was demobilised and on 18 November 1918 he was discharged in consequence of expiration of period of enlistment.  In correspondence to the Army in January 1919, Jack Rogers gave his address as Dunrobin Arnold Street Killara.

Marriage to Clara Moore

On 7 October 1925 (his 27th birthday), Jack Rogers married Clara Birchenall Moore at the Pymble Presbyterian Church; Clara was born in 1902 and died in 1999. (Now named the Pymble Uniting Church, it is located at the corner of Livingstone Avenue and the Pacific Highway.)  Newspaper reports of Clara and Jack’s wedding and of the wedding of Clara’s elder sister four years earlier are provided in Appendix B.  One of Clara’s three bridesmaids was Miss Polly Rogers.  Polly was Jack’s younger sister and had been one of Clara’s school friends at Presbyterian Ladies College.  It was through Polly that Clara and Jack first met.

Clara’s birth was registered at Huddersfield, Yorkshire, West Riding during the period July-September 1902.  She was the third of the five children born to Sidney Moore and his wife Clara Lunn Moore.  In mid-1909, the Moore family migrated to Sydney from Huddersfield.  On 15 July1909, the Moore family arrived in Sydney on the P&O Line’s RMS Mantua that was on her maiden voyage under Captain Frederick William Vibert RNR CB FRCS (1858-1935).  From the Mantua’s passenger list the Moore family members then were: Sidney age 39 years, wool industry; Clara L age 39 years, wife; Elsie age 13 years; Eric age 9 years; Clara B age 6 years; Fred age 3 years; and Mary age 10 months. 

After arriving in Sydney the Moore family settled in the inner northern suburb of Pymble.  On a 1930 electoral roll, Sidney Moore, wool broker; Clara Lunn Moore, home duties; and Mary Moore, home duties resided at Birchencliffe, Telegraph Road Pymble.  On a 1943 electoral roll, Sidney Moore, retired, resided at 4 Church Street Pymble; also residing at that address was Annie Yewtrees Moore, home duties.

Clara Moore had initially attended Ravenswood School for Girls in Henry Street Pymble.  However, in February 1916, the then 13-year old Clara was enrolled as number 40 of the first 60 students to attend the newly opened Presbyterian Ladies’ College Pymble (now named the Pymble Ladies College) in Avon Road.  Twenty of the original students were boarders.  (One hundred years later, Clara’s 16-year old great-granddaughter, Lily Rogers of Wahroonga, was also a student at PLC.) 

Clara Moore in her younger days

Rogers family image from Daily Telegraph local news website

Jack and Clara Rogers had one child, their son John who was born in 1927 and died in 2016.  John Rogers (the younger) later married Lois and together they had four children.

Clara Rogers later in life

Rogers family image from Daily Telegraph local news website

John and Clara Rogers’ various residential addresses between 1930 and 1968 as gleaned from electoral roll searches are listed in the table below.

John Noble Core Rogers electoral roll information

Year	Person and Address Details	Occupation
1930	John Noble Core Rogers, Church Street Pymble	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1933	John Noble Core Rogers, 15 Findlay Avenue Chatswood	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1934	John Noble Core Rogers, Kiewa Church St Pymble*	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1935	John Noble Core Rogers, Kiewa Church Street Pymble	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1935	John Noble Core Rogers, 16 Barton Court Barton	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1937	John Noble Core Rogers, 16 Barton Court Barton	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1943	John Noble Core Rogers, La Perouse Street Griffith (sometimes also referred to as Manuka)	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1949	John Noble Core Rogers, 26 La Perouse Street Griffith	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1954	John Noble Core Rogers, 26 La Perouse Street Griffith	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1958	John Noble Core Rogers 26 La Perouse Street Griffith	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1963	John Noble Core Rogers, 26 La Perouse Street Griffith	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties
1968	John Noble Core Rogers, 26 La Perouse Street Griffith	Surveyor
	Clara Birchenall Rogers, as above	Home Duties

*Note: Kiewa was built in 1894 for wool broker Duncan Carson and was later extended.  It sits on a 4,300 square metre lot at 29 Church Street Pymble and in 2009 reportedly sold for $6.85 million.

Source: Australian Electoral Commission electoral rolls for years cited.

Early survey career 1916-1935

Jack Rogers commenced his survey career on 1 April 1916 when he started work with Casino-based licensed surveyor Frank Wearne.  Surveyor Wearne also operated from the Herald Buildings in Coraki on the Richmond River about 30 kilometres south-east of Casino.  On 18 September 1916, Jack entered into an agreement with Frank Wearne to receive tuition in surveying over a four-year term; the agreement was back-dated to 1 April 1916.  Jack registered articles with the New South Wales Board of Surveyors on 5 October 1916.  As mentioned above, Jack’s employment with Frank Wearne was interrupted when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1918.

In April 1920, Jack Rogers joined the survey practice of Dobbie and Foxall, Licensed Surveyors, who then operated from premises in Castlereagh House at 2 Castlereagh Street Sydney.  Stewart Randolph Dobbie was a significant figure in the survey profession.  He served for 11 years as the honorary secretary of the New South Wales Division of the Institution of Surveyors, Australia and was the Institution’s president in 1910 (Atchison, 1996). 

In 1914, Dobbie took his sister Margaret’s son Henry George Foxall (1884-1966) into a partnership that endured until Dobbie retired 32 years later.  Harry Foxall was awarded a Bachelor of Engineering degree (in metallurgy and assaying) from the University of Sydney in 1906.  As a scholarship student he studied geology under (Sir) Douglas Mawson and assisted Professor (Sir) Tannatt William Edgeworth David in a geological survey of the Newcastle coal fields.  Foxall joined his uncle’s survey practice in 1910 and passed the land surveyors examinations in 1912 (Atchison, 1996).

In October 1921, Jack Rogers was one of several candidates who passed the New South Wales Board of Examiners’ examinations for licensing as a surveyor in New South Wales. Jack was awarded New South Wales Certificate of Competency No. 285 dated 13 October 1921 and a New South Wales Surveyor’s Licence dated 14 October 1921.  That licence qualified Jack to undertake surveys of Crown land (Green, 2016). 

On 11 November 1921, Jack Rogers was appointed as a Mining Surveyor under section 6 (1), of the New South Wales Mining Act, 1906; this appointment was promulgated in the Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales on that date.  Jack was later issued with a special license under the Real Property Act, No 25, 1900.  This enabled him to undertake surveys of land having title under the Real Property Act (Green 2016).  The issuance of this special license was promulgated in the Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales on 9 December 1921.

The surveying partnership of Howard and Rogers was registered on 1 May 1922.  This partnership between Harold Trotman Howard and John Noble Rogers operated in the fields of land, mining and engineering surveying.  The business office was located in Lombard Chambers at 107 Pitt Street Sydney.

There was no evidence of Harold Howard (1873-1926) being a licensed surveyor but he apparently undertook much of the design and administrative work of the partnership’s business.  Howard had earlier worked in survey practices with his brother William who was a Licensed Surveyor and had been involved in designing modern housing estates in Sydney and Melbourne.  Howard was believed to have been active in converting Old System (common law) titles to the Torrens system of title by registration that commenced in New South Wales in 1863.  (Old System titles based on British practice had been introduced in New South Wales in 1802).  Howard and Rogers’ surveying projects included land subdivision at Granville, road construction at Northbridge and at Wentworthville (Green, 2016).

In 1925, Harold Howard was one of the inaugural directors of a capital raising venture known as Brooklands Speedway Limited.  The company sought to build a Sydney version of the famous Brooklands Speedway in England.  Another director, Victor Sutherland of Frogmore had commenced construction of a speedway on the eastern part of his property at what is now called Werrington Park.  While the track commenced operation in June 1923 it was never completed.

On 27 July 1926, Harold Howard sadly died at age 53 years at his residence, Lincoln, in Kenneth Street at the inner-harbourside suburb of Longueville; survived by his wife Mary.  About six months after Howard’s death, his estate was in bankruptcy.  In September 1927, a first account and plan of distribution, yielded payment of a dividend of eleven pence and five-sixteenths of a penny in the £ (less than 5 per cent) on all proved concurrent claims of the creditors (Green, 2016).

The Howard and Rogers partnership continued to practice after Harold Howard’s death.  From 1929 to 1932, Jack Rogers’ business address was Wingello House at 1-12 Angel Place (between Pitt Street and George Street) in central Sydney.  Wingello House was demolished in the late 1990s to make way for the present day City Recital Hall.  Another occupant of Wingello House around Jack Rogers’ tenure was the infamous New Guard’s Francis Edward de Groot (1888-1969) of Sydney Harbour Bridge opening notoriety.  From Wingello House, de Groot operated as an antique dealer and designer, manufacturer and marketer of high quality reproduction furniture.

The New South Wales Surveyors Act 1929 No 3 commenced in April 1929.  This Act made new provisions for the registration of surveyors of land; the regulation of the making of surveys of land; and amended the Real Property Act 1900 and certain other Acts for connected purposes.  Jack Rogers was one of 199 holders of subsisting licences to survey who were approved for registration under the 1929 Act.  This approval was given by the New South Wales Board of Surveyors from 16 November 1929 (Green, 2016).

On 16 March 1931, Jack Rogers, still of Howard and Rogers surveyors, signed an agreement with pupil Melville John Rossiter to provide tuition in surveying.  Apparently Melville had already been employed by Jack as the agreement was back-dated to 12 January 1931.  Tragically, just after successfully completing his first-year examinations in surveying, the 18-year old Melville drowned in the George's River at Carramar on Wednesday 20 January 1932 (Green, 2016).

On annual lists of Registered Surveyors in New South Wales, Jack Rogers’ business address for the years 1934 and 1935 was shown as care of the District Surveyor at Grafton.  During this period the District Surveyor was a Mr AL Proust.  Jack Rogers moved to Canberra in 1935 to take up a Commonwealth Government appointment.

Department of the Interior service 1935-1963

In 1935, Jack Rogers joined the Department of the Interior as a surveyor based in Canberra.  Here he initially served under Arthur Percival (1879-1964) who was appointed Commonwealth Surveyor General in 1929 and held that position until 1944 when he retired.  Owing to the then compulsory retirement in the Public Service at age 65 years, Percival could not continue his Public Service appointment beyond 9 February 1944.  However, Percival was retained as an adviser on land transfers for the Garden Island naval facilities after he retired.

In Canberra, Jack Rogers spent the four years between 1935 and 1939 carrying out general surveying duties.  In 1940 he was appointed as the administrative assistant to the head of the Property and Survey Branch in Canberra. The property function within the Branch had been established to acquire, lease and dispose of land and buildings on behalf of the Commonwealth; manage Commonwealth properties; coordinate arrangements for building construction; and provide advice and security for all Commonwealth properties. 

Initially the Property Branch was part of the Works Directorate but along with the Survey function it was separated in 1945.  In 1952, Chief Property Officers were established in all States.  (The Commonwealth government eventually abolished its in-house property function in October 1997.)  Various iterations and functions of the Property and Survey Branch are listed in Appendix C.

From 1940 to 1951 Jack Rogers was responsible for the major property transactions of the Commonwealth Government. From August 1946, property dealings associated with the Commonwealth Government’s war-time occupation of privately owned land under the National Security Regulations were handled by a special Hirings Section within the Department of the Interior.  The Section’s work included the termination of existing Commonwealth occupations; investigation of claims for physical damage; and reinstatement of properties occupied under the National Security Regulations.

As mentioned earlier, following FM Johnston's retirement, Jack Rogers was promoted within the Department of the Interior to the position of Commonwealth Surveyor General as well as Chief Commonwealth Property Officer and Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council.  This promotion occurred on 29 March 1949.

As Surveyor General and Chief Property Officer, Jack Rogers supervised the surveying needs of Commonwealth departments and agencies throughout Australia and negotiated the settlement of compensation claims for land and buildings acquired during World War II under the National Security Regulations.

Jack Rogers became Assistant Secretary of the Australian Capital Territory Planning and Development Branch on 31 May 1951. At that time the position which included the duties of Surveyor General had a salary range of £1,658 to £1,844 per annum. In the 1951 re-organisation of the Department of the Interior, the Property and Survey Branch was abolished and replaced by: the Property Section; the Planning and Development Branch; and the National Mapping Section. The role of Chief Property Officer was decentralised with such officers being appointed in each State in early 1952.

Owing to the onerous workloads involved in his other responsibilities within the Department of the Interior, in this re-organisation, Jack Rogers relinquished his roles as Chief Property Officer, Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council.  The national mapping responsibilities were assumed by Bruce Lambert who had been Deputy Director of National Mapping under FM Johnston and later JNC Rogers since 1946.  However, in his capacity as Commonwealth Surveyor General, Jack Rogers remained a member of the National Mapping Council until his retirement in 1963.

About the national topographic mapping of Australia

While European settlement of Australia commenced in 1788, topographic mapping coverage did not become a national government priority until World War II.  It took a further half century to get the basic topographic mapping task completed.  In the colonial era to 1900, there was understandably an initial focus on exploration activities.  The limited surveying and mapping resources then available to the separate colonies were primarily employed in the surveying of land selections.  This activity had a different and more limited focus from the building of an overall national survey framework for a uniform national topographic mapping coverage. 

At federation in 1901, constitutional responsibility for land administration was retained by the various States.  Despite calls from the States’ Surveyors General and from the survey profession, there was no commitment to the overall national mapping requirement by successive federal governments.  For various reasons there was little resource commitment and national mapping was given low priority. The then Australian Army Survey Corps was revived as a unit in 1932 essentially to map the country by default.  The magnitude of this mapping task was overwhelming. The limited resources available to military and State mapping agencies resulted in little progress on the nation’s mapping task being achieved prior to World War II.  At the end of the 1930s only about 2 per cent of Australia’s land area had been adequately mapped. 

With the outbreak of World War II and the looming prospect of invasion from the north, the Commonwealth Government at last accepted the importance of adequate topographic mapping to meet the by then urgent defence need.  An emergency mapping program was then undertaken by the Australian Survey Corps in collaboration with the State mapping agencies.  By the end of the War preliminary emergency mapping coverage extended over around 80 per cent of Australia’s mainland.

By early 1945, even before victory had been achieved in the Pacific theatre of World War II, governments throughout Australia accepted that national action was needed to effectively address the topographic mapping coverage required for defence, post-war reconstruction, national development and other uses.  By that time the then Department of Post War Reconstruction was pressing for a national geodetic survey and adequate topographic mapping (McLean and Manning, 2015).

Contribution to the national mapping of Australia

Jack Rogers made a significant personal contribution to Australia’s post-war national mapping effort.  In 1945, he was the secretary of a major conference on the future direction and coordinating arrangements for Australia’s post-war topographic mapping and geodetic survey activities.  This Conference on the national survey and mapping of Australia was held in the Senate committee rooms at Parliament House, Canberra during 15-19 January 1945.  Around 30 people attended the conference; attendees are listed in Appendix D below. 

The conference was chaired by Freddie Johnston in his capacity as Commonwealth Surveyor General.  In his concluding remarks Johnston was recorded as saying: A specific reference must be made to the Secretary.  Mr Rogers has done a job of such merit as we would expect from a man who at one time was the Secretary of the Surveyors' Institute in New South Wales.

The January 1945 conference on the national survey and mapping of Australia made a number of recommendations.  These recommendations included that a national approach to the mapping of Australia be adopted.  This mapping approach was to be coordinated by a National Mapping Council.  The new Council was to be chaired by the Commonwealth Surveyor General who would need to be assisted by a deputy.  Prime Minister John Curtin concurred with these recommendations.  By March 1945 Curtin had obtained the agreement of the Premiers to a coordinated national mapping program and the formation of a National Mapping Council.

Jack Rogers was to be heavily involved in the work of the National Mapping Council over the period from 1945 to 1963.  He was the Secretary of the Council in 1945 and 1946.  Also in 1946, Jack Rogers was appointed Assistant Commonwealth Surveyor General.

As mentioned previously, on 29 March 1949, following Freddie Johnston's retirement the previous month, Jack Rogers was promoted within the Department of the Interior to the positions of Commonwealth Surveyor General and Chief Commonwealth Property Officer as well as Director of National Mapping and Chairman of the National Mapping Council.

As also previously mentioned, after stepping down as Council Chairman and Director of National Mapping in 1951, Rogers continued to be a member of the Council as Commonwealth Surveyor General until his retirement in 1963.  However, Jack retained a keen interest in National Mapping Council activities after he retired.  He attended the Council’s October 1970 meeting in Hobart as an observer. 

Jack Roger’s National Mapping Council Meeting Attendance 1945-1970

Jack Rogers’ attendance at National Mapping Council meetings is listed in the table below.

Date	NMC meeting number	Location	Capacity
18 September 1945	1	Melbourne	Secretary
3 April 1946	2	Adelaide	Secretary
15-16 November 1949	8	Canberra	Chairman
26-27 May 1950	9	Canberra	Chairman
29-30 April 1952	10	Canberra	Commonwealth Surveyor General
24-25 March 1953	11	Melbourne	Commonwealth Surveyor General
27-28 April 1954	12	Canberra	Commonwealth Surveyor General
29-30 March 1955	13	Canberra	Commonwealth Surveyor General
23-24 April 1956	14	Perth	Commonwealth Surveyor General
8-9 May 1957	15	Brisbane	Commonwealth Surveyor General
25-27 March 1958	16	Hobart	Commonwealth Surveyor General
17-19 March 1959	17	Bendigo	Commonwealth Surveyor General
29-31 March 1960	18	Canberra	Commonwealth Surveyor General
11-13 April 1961	19	Adelaide	Commonwealth Surveyor General
10-12 April 1962	20	Hobart	Commonwealth Surveyor General
1-3 April 1963	21	Sydney	Commonwealth Surveyor General
5-7 October 1970	28	Hobart	Observer

Source: National Mapping Council Report of Proceedings (1945-1949), Summary of Proceedings (1950-1958), and Summary of Proceedings Part 1 (1959-1986).

Jack Rogers’ service on the National Mapping Council was during a period of considerable technological advancement.  One advancement was the advent of electronic distance measuring that was to replace the steel band and the earlier surveyor’s chain to measure precise survey distances.  The airborne SHORAN radar technology was investigated during 1948-1949 in conjuction with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.  It was hoped that this technology could be used to undertake the geodetic survey of Australia by radar triangulation.  However, SHORAN was rejected as being both too costly and of insufficient accuracy for that purpose. 

Another technology advancement was in 1954 when the then National Mapping Section successfully deployed the Swedish Geodimeter (model NASM-1) as the first ground-based electronic distance measuring survey intrument in Australia.  The image below shows Jack Rogers and other National Mapping Council members inspecting the NASM-1 in Canberra in April 1954 prior to its first field deploment the following month.

Jack Rogers (second from left) with National Mapping Council members and others in Canberra in April 1954 inspecting the model NASM-1 Geodimeter

XNatmap image courtesy of Paul Wise

XNatmap image courtesy of Paul Wise

Some National Mapping Council Milestones

During his senior level involvement with the National Mapping Council between 1945 and 1963, Jack Rogers contributed to achieving many important milestones towards the national mapping coverage that provided the cornerstone of Australia’s present day topographic data infrastructure.  These milestones included:

· commencing the 544 sheet 1:250,000 scale topographic map series in 1948 using astronomical and barometric field survey control techniques and the slotted template method of radial-line triangulation

· testing the SHORAN airborne radar system for geodetic surveying 1948-49

· commencing the national geodetic survey in 1951

· introducing electronic distance measuring systems with the Geodimeter in 1954 and the Tellurometer in 1957

· commencing systematic aerial photography coverage of Australia at a nominal 1:80,000 scale in 1960 using super wide-angle aerial cameras

· introducing radar terrain profiling for vertical mapping control in 1962

· introducing Aerodist radar-based airborne distance measuring for horizontal mapping control in 1963.

ACT Planning and Development Branch

As mentioned earlier, on 31 May 1951, Jack Rogers was appointed Assistant Secretary in charge of the Australian Capital Territory Planning and Development Branch of the Department of the Interior.  (This appointment was in addition to his role as Commonwealth Surveyor General.)  The Branch was expected to speed up development in the Australian Capital Territory.  Its functions included town and rural planning, allocation of building and other sites, determination of building covenants, formulation of a works development programme, design, construction and maintenance of parks and gardens reserves and sporting areas, and the leasing of city and rural lands. 

The Branch also administered local building and related services ordinances and regulations including the direction of building construction.  The Branch made property valuations for the Department of the Interior and for War Service Homes.  

Jack’s duties when in charge of the Australian Capital Territory Planning and Development Branch were not always particularly pleasant.  For example, from time-to-time he was required to determine (in other words formally end) extant leases over Crown land in the ACT.  See Appendix E below for some examples of lease determination notices.  Some of Jack’s other duties put him in the public spot light on numerous occasions as shown in the examples below. 

An article in The Canberra Times on 20 June 1952, addressed the forthcoming release of some 28 blocks of land for a new shopping area in Civic.  That article noted that Surveyor General Mr JN Rogers declined to disclose any conditions of sale, stating that there was no degree of urgency until the land was ready.

In 1955 Jack appeared as a witness before a Senate Select Committee inquiring into the development of Canberra (Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1955).  Jack’s appearances before this Senate Select Committee were in his capacity as Assistant Secretary of the Australian Capital Territory Planning and Development Branch as well as in his capacity as Commonwealth Surveyor General.

In July 1956, as a member of the ACT Advisory Council Jack was reported in The Canberra Times as referring to Mr PD Day, an elected Labor Party member of the Council, as petulant.  The Council was discussing Mr Day’s motion for more frequent Council meetings.  Jack was also reported as stating that he did not think Council business warranted meeting once a fortnight.  The Council did not have the power of other authorities and was only advisory.

An article in The Canberra Times in December 1958 reported on discussions at the ACT Advisory Council on improving the public road approaches to the Prime Minister’s Lodge.  Jack was reported as saying action would be taken.

National Capital Planning and Development Committee

Of operational necessity, the ACT Planning and Development Branch also worked closely with the National Capital Planning and Development Committee.  Jack Rogers was an executive member of the committee from 1953 until it was abolished in 1957.  The committee had its genesis in 1938, when some Commonwealth parliamentarians were concerned that some building projects were about to take place in Canberra without Parliament having been consulted.  

At that time, some building projects appeared to conflict with the Griffin Plan, which was enshrined in legislation under the Seat of Government Act 1924.  American architect Water Burley Griffin (1876-1937), in collaboration with his architect wife Marion Mahony Griffin (1871-1961), had submitted the winning design in the 1912 Federal Capital Design Competition.  To help ensure the Griffin Plan was implemented as envisaged, the then Minister for Home Affairs King O’Malley, appointed Griffin as the Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction in October 1913 and Griffin held that position until December 1920.

In 1938, the then Member for Parkes, Charles Marr, noted that the Department of the Interior had chosen a site for the new Canberra High School at Acton when that site was intended for a future university.  Marr also noted that the proposed Patent Office building at 2 National Circuit Barton was to be located between (the now old) Parliament House and Hotel Kurrajong at 8 National Circuit Barton.  The proposed building had not been referred to the Public Works Committee even though the project was estimated to cost £100,000.  (Now named the Robert Marsden Hope building, the former Patent Office building was built between 1939 and 1941 and now houses the Office of National Assessments.)

To address the above mentioned concerns, Parliament established the National Capital Planning and Development Committee in December 1938, ostensibly to safeguard the Griffin Plan.  The committee comprised the Chairman of the Public Works Committee, Chairman of the ACT Advisory Council, Assistant Secretary (Civic Administration) of the Department of the Interior, and four other members appointed by the Governor-General, of whom at least three were to be authorities on town planning, architecture or engineering.

The Minister of the Interior referred to the committee any matter relating to the planning and development of Canberra.  The committee could, of its own volition, inquire into the Griffin Plan or proposals for the development of the city or designs for the siting, layout or construction of any public building.  The committee was essentially advisory in nature and the Minister was not obliged to accept its advice.  

The National Capital Planning and Development Committee was abolished in 1957 following establishment of the National Capital Development Commission and the National Capital Planning Committee; there were related organisational impacts within the Department of the Interior.

The post-war development of Canberra

Jack Rogers contributed greatly to the post-war development of Canberra.  The following paragraphs give a brief overview of the pressing accommodation situation in Canberra following World War II.  That was the operational environment in which Jack Rogers took up his appointment as Assistant Secretary in charge of the ACT Planning and Development Branch within the Department of the Interior in 1951. 

The population of the Australian Capital Territory (including Jervis Bay) grew by some 79.3 per cent between 1947 and 1954.  The census on 30 June 1947 recorded a population of 16,905 persons in the ACT and the census on 30 June 1954 recorded 30,315 persons (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1963).

In April 1948, the Commonwealth Government adopted a plan to transfer some 7,000 public servants to Canberra over the next 10 years.  It was also understood that both office accommodation and housing had to be provided.  In the next three years, a series of temporary office buildings was constructed in Barton to house officers from the Public Service Board, Works and Housing, Health, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, and the Commonwealth Investigation Service.  The largest office project was completion of the Administrative Building in Parkes.

Between 1946 and 1950 only a little over 1,000 houses were built.  The Chifley government had reversed an earlier policy and allowed the construction of flats.  Between 1948 and 1952, four blocks of flats were built at Griffith, Braddon and Ainslie, comprising 184 units.  The British company AV Jennings was contracted to build houses in Reid, Narrabundah, Yarralumla and Duntroon, using tradesmen and labourers recruited from displaced persons camps in Europe. 

The government also recycled former defence facilities.  The first was Mulwala House an accommodation facility at Reid that was built in 1947 from Royal Australian Air Force materials relocated from Mulwala in the Riverina.  The Eastlake Hostel was also opened in 1947; it was a former RAAF camp near the present Canberra railway station.  Narellan House located in Reid had opened in 1949 and was built using defence materials relocated from Narellan south-west of Sydney.  The Riverside Hostel, at Barton was also built from former Narellan materials.

Another innovative measure was the reuse of houses from the World War II RAAF base at Tocumwal.  About 200 houses from Tocumwal were rebuilt in the Canberra suburbs of Ainslie and O'Connor.  Many of these houses (now referred to as Tocumwals) survive today and the precinct is now on the ACT Heritage Places Register.  However, the government's 1948 targets for office accommodation and housing failed, mainly due to difficulties in obtaining labour and materials, underestimating Canberra's natural growth, and insufficient funding.  Waiting lists for public housing in Canberra continued to grow following the change of government in 1949.  By 1955, the lists contained more than 3,000 families and individuals.

Canberra housing situation 1946-1947 to 1954-1955

Period	Housing units completed (includes flats)	Housing units under construction (includes flats) at 30 June in end year	Persons on departmental housing waiting lists at 30 June in end year	Workmen engaged directly on housing at 30 June in end year
1946-1947^1	135	355	1,445	405
1947-1948^1	249	526	1,764	554
1948-1949^1	285	842	2,370	664
1949-1950^1	410	784	2,902	951
1950-1951^1	545	1,044	2,618	987
1951-1952	635	664	2,698	1,109
1952-1953	588	535	2,476	788
1953-1954	489	513	2,611	500
1954-1955	320	657	3,014	693

Notes: 1. Includes temporary structures as follows: 1946-1947: 8; 1947‑1948: 69; 1948-1949: 94; 1949-1950: 107; 1950-1951: 37.

Source: The Senate Report of the Select Committee appointed to inquire into and report upon the Development of Canberra, September 1955, pages 15-16.

Jack Rogers was greatly involved in various aspects of Canberra’s development from the 1950s until his death in 1971.  He carried out these duties in an exemplary manner.  A clear indication of the high esteem in which Jack was held by Ministers of the Crown, colleagues and peers is the number of high level offices to which he was appointed following his retirement in 1963.  Jack’s post-retirement appointments are outlined later in this article.

Canberra accommodation shortages-the National Mapping impacts

One example of the paucity of suitable office accommodation and available housing for staff in Canberra was the impact on the creation of the National Mapping Section within the Department of the Interior.  The then Deputy Director of National Mapping Bruce Lambert drew up plans for and obtained Public Service Board approval for an establishment of about 50 positions in early 1947.  However, Lambert could not locate all required staff in Canberra.  Accordingly, initial positions in the Photogrammetric Survey Sub-section were temporarily located in Melbourne.  In mid-1949, some Canberra-based draughting and tracing positions were being advertised with the caveat: the successful applicant will be required to perform duty in Melbourne for an indefinite period.  The Melbourne office was still in that location (albeit in suburban Dandenong) when National Mapping ceased operating as a unique entity in mid-1987.

Jack Rogers’ representations overseas

Jack Rogers was an Australian representative at several Commonwealth Survey Officers conferences in England; namely in 1951, 1955, 1959 and 1963.  Now a global four-yearly event for all national mapping organisations, the Conference of Commonwealth Survey Officers commenced in 1928 as the Empire Conference of Survey Officers.  This forum is now known as the Cambridge Conference.

The Commonwealth Survey Officers conferences Jack Rogers attended were held as follows:

· 9-20 July 1951 at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, London

· 15-26 August 1955 at the Department of Geography in Downing Place at the University of Cambridge; the first of these conferences to be held at Cambridge

· 17-28 August 1959 at the Department of Geography, Cambridge

· 22 July-2 August 1963 at the Department of Geography, Cambridge.

Professional affiliations

From early in his surveying career Jack Rogers was a member of the New South Wales Division of the Institution of Surveyors, Australia.  He was elected as a member of the Institution at its general meeting on 20 December 1921.  The Institution of Surveyors’ 1933 annual general meeting was held on 3 February at Science House at the corner of Gloucester and Essex Streets Sydney.  At that meeting Frank Maxwell Mason MC was elected president and among the nine councillors elected were Harry Foxall and Jack Rogers; Jack remained a councillor for some years.

At the Institution’s Council meeting on 9 February 1933, Jack was appointed to act as Honorary Secretary in the place of Mr JB Finney who was on 3 months leave of absence.  At a Council meeting on 10 May 1934 Jack was elected a Fellow of the Institution (Green, 2016).

Jack Rogers continued his involvement with the Institution of Surveyors when in Canberra.  In November 1959, his membership of the Institution was transferred from the New South Wales Division to the Canberra Division (Green, 2016).  In 1960, Jack became the foundation president of the Canberra Division. 

In an obituary for Jack Rogers in the Institution’s journal the Australian Surveyor in June 1972 it was stated that he was a reserved man but was always keen to mix with the younger members of the survey profession at Institution functions.  His keen mind and broad knowledge made him a popular conversationalist (Anonymous, 1972).

In 1950 Jack Rogers was elected as an Honorary Member of the Commonwealth Institute of Valuers.  (Now the Australian Property Institute, the Commonwealth Institute of Valuers was founded in Adelaide in 1926 and was incorporated under the South Australian Associations Incorporations Act in 1927.  Divisions in several other States were established between 1927 and 1949.)

Jack Rogers was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Australian Planning Institute.  (The Institute had been founded as the Regional and Town Planning Institute in 1951 and later became the Royal Australian Planning Institute until 2002 when the current name Planning Institute Australia was adopted.)

Retirement

Jack Rogers formally retired shortly after he returned to Australia from attending the Conference of Commonwealth Survey Officers at Cambridge during late July to early August 1963.  His retirement was announced in the September 1963 issue of The Australian Surveyor.  Jack turned 65 years of age on 7 October 1963 and owing to compulsory age retirement that then existed in the Commonwealth Public Service he had to retire prior to age 65 years.  However, as outlined below, Jack Rogers was called to take up some significant appointments after leaving formal employment with the Department of the Interior.  He held some of these appointments until his death.  Thus he never ceased providing public service.

Jack Rogers was succeeded as Commonwealth Surveyor General by John Boyle (1904-1979) who was appointed to that position in March 1964 and held it until his retirement in February 1969.

Recognition and commemoration

JNC Rogers is one of some 137 names inscribed on the honour roll at the Killara Soldiers Memorial.  This honour roll lists World War I service men and women in black lettering on six white marble tablets set into the front exterior wall of what is now the Marian Street Theatre.  The theatre is located at 2 Marian Street Killara, opposite the current post office shop.  The theatre was built in 1906 as a community hall by a company that was funded by local people.  During World War I the building came under the control of the Ku‑ring-gai Council and became known as the Soldiers Memorial Hall; it later became a community theatre.

JNC Rogers’ name inscribed on the Killara Soldiers Memorial

Register of War Memorials in NSW image

On 13 June 1964, John Noble Core Rogers was awarded a Companion of the Imperial Service Order in recognition of his distinguished public service as Commonwealth Surveyor General.  The Imperial Service Order was instituted in 1902 by King Edward VII to recognise distinguished public service of at least 25 years duration by senior officers in the civil service in Britain and in Commonwealth countries.  The ISO was awarded to 425 Australians; the last Australian award was in 1989.  Following the introduction of the Australian Honours System in 1975, Australian recommendations for imperial awards gradually decreased and ceased in the early 1990s.

Mount Rogers in the Australia Capital Territory was named for John Noble Core Rogers.  It is a large hill with a height of 704 metres (2,310 feet) located in the northern Canberra suburb of Fraser.  Mount Rogers Reserve is at the crest and there is a trig point on the summit; please see image below.  Also in the Canberra suburb of Fraser is Rogers Street that was gazetted on 13 April 1976; Rogers Street was also named for John Noble Core Rogers.

The survey mark on Mount Rogers 21 August 2016

image courtesy Rod Menzies

Post-retirement appointments

Jack and Clara Rogers continued to reside in Canberra after Jack retired from the Department of Interior in 1963.  Following his retirement, Jack held several important appointments in the Australian Capital Territory; these appointments are outlined below. 

Jack Rogers had been appointed as of the Department of the Interior’s representatives on the ACT Advisory Council in 1949.  After retirement he continued with the Department in a special advisory capacity and as a member of the Advisory Council until 1965. 

The Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council was established in 1930 to provide residents with representation on local matters.  (The Advisory Council replaced the Federal Capital Commission which had been composed of one elected and two appointed Commissioners.)  The first Advisory Council was elected in May 1930.  Initially it comprised three elected members as well as one member appointed by each of the Departments of Works and Railways, Home Affairs, Health, and Attorney-General.  The ACT Advisory Council met for the last time on 9 September 1974 and was replaced by a Legislative Assembly consisting of eighteen elected members.

(The Department of the Interior was created in 1932 from an amalgamation of the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Transport, and the Department of Works and Railways.)  

Jack Rogers was appointed as the Chairman of the Canberra Building Review Committee in 1965 and held that position until his death in 1971.  The Committee was established under the ACT Building Ordinance, Number 19 of 1964 to determine various building-related applications.  These applications included reviewing decisions to refuse plans and specifications, cancelling or refusing to grant a builder’s license, as well as objections to stop work notices or to the demolishing or altering of buildings.  Any appeals against decisions of the Building Review Committee were determined by the Supreme Court.

The Building Review Committee comprised a chairman and four other members all of whom were appointed by the Minister for the Interior.  Each person held office for a term of up to three years and could be reappointed.  Committee members included an officer of the Department of the Interior, a representative of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects; a representative of the Institution of Engineers of Australia, and a representative of the Australian Building Institute.

One appeal against a Building Review Committee decision was heard by Mr Justice Fox in the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court on 25 September 1968.  On 7 June 1968, the Committee had ordered the firm Agua Marga Pty Ltd of Alinga Street, Canberra to partly rebuild a block of flats at Red Hill.  This firm applied to the Court for a writ of certiorari (in effect a judicial review).  Barrister Keppel Earl (Kep) Enderby (1926-2015) instructed by solicitors O'Neill and Briggs appeared for Agua Marga and Deputy Crown Solicitor William Henry Johnston appeared for the Committee.  (Kep Enderby later became a Queen’s Counsel and a member of the House of Representatives.  He held several ministerial posts in the Whitlam government including that of Attorney General.)

At the time the Building Review Committee made the subject order, one of the sitting member’s three-year term of office had expired and the renewal procedures had not been completed. Mr Justice Fox found that owing to the membership circumstances, the Committee did not legally exist at the time the order was made and therefore the order was not valid.  Mr Justice Fox then quashed the Committee’s order.

Jack Rogers was appointed by Peter Nixon, the then Minister for the Interior, as a member of the Surveyors Board of the Australian Capital Territory from 1968 until 1971.  It was not until late 1967 and early 1968 that land surveying in the Australian Capital Territory was brought under legislative control similar to that in the various Australian States.  In November 1967 the Surveyors Ordinance, No 34 of 1967, was made.  This ordinance provided for the registration of land surveyors and for the regulation of the practice of land surveying in the ACT.  In January 1968, the Surveyors (Examination and Registration) Regulation (1968, No 1) was made under the1967 ordinance to prescribe matters relating to the examination and registration of land surveyors in the ACT.

Under the 1967 ordinance, the Surveyors Board of the Australian Capital Territory was established.  The Board was chaired by the Commonwealth Surveyor General and comprised four other members appointed by the Minister. 

The Surveyors Board had various powers and responsibilities regarding land surveyors, including: the registration of suitable and appropriately qualified adult persons as land surveyors; determining the qualifications of applicants consistent with reciprocating jurisdictions, conducting examinations of the competency of applicants; hearing complaints against registered surveyors; conducting inquiries and examining witnesses; and suspending or cancelling a surveyor’s registration.  (Under the 1967 ordinance, both the register of ACT surveyors and the registrar were located within the Department of Interior.)

Jack Rogers was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Australian Capital Territory Design and Siting Review Committee in 1969 and served in that position until 1971.  This Committee was established under the ACT Building (Design and Siting) Ordinance 1964 and comprised a chairman; a member of the National Capital Planning Committee; and a person representing the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.  The jurisdiction of the Committee under the Ordinance was to hear and determine applications for the review of decisions of the National Capital Development Commission, namely: refusing approval for the external design and siting of buildings, or in respect of any related alterations, or relating to the granting of any such approval subject to conditions.

Vale

John Noble Core Rogers died at his Canberra family home at 26 La Perouse Street Griffith on Thursday 14 October 1971; he was 73 years of age.  Jack was survived by Clara, his wife of 46 years, and by their son John.  Jack’s funeral service was held in the Chapel at Norwood Park Crematorium, Mitchell on Monday 18 October 1971 and commenced at 10:30 am.  Jack’s remains were later cremated and his ashes interred in Wall C, Row 3 of the Terrace of Faith area to the south of the crematorium building.  The funeral arrangements were conducted by Canberra Funeral Directors of Kingston.  (Death and funeral notices are reproduced in Appendix F.)

At some time after her husband’s death, Clara Rogers moved back to Sydney where she resided at Hunters Hill.  Clara Rogers passed away on 20 May 1999; at 96 years of age.  Clara was survived by her son John and by several grandchildren.

Received October 2016

References

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Australian Capital Territory (1964), Building Review Committee, in Sections 12 to 20 of the since repealed Building Ordinance, No 19 of 1964, pp 112-116, accessed at : http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/ord/1964-19/19650527-45296/pdf/1964-19.pdf

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McLean, Lawrence William and Manning, John (2015), National Mapping’s Aerodist Surveys in Western Australia 1971-74: Horizontal Control for the National Topographic Map Series.  This paper supported Dr Manning’s presentation at the Power of Maps conference hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Map Society and the Mapping Sciences Institute of Australia.  The conference was held at the National Library of Australia, Canberra during 30 April-1 May 2015.

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Appendix A

Rubie Carter’s Wedding

Social Items in the Evening News (Sydney) Friday 1 October 1897, page 7

A pretty wedding was celebrated at the Presbyterian Church, Newtown on Wednesday, 22^nd instant (sic), when Miss Rubie Violet Carter, daughter of Mr Sydney Carter, of Marian Street, Enmore was married to Mr Henry Havelock Rogers, youngest son of Mr J Rogers, of Annandale.  The church, was artistically decorated with arum lilies, palms, ferns, ivy, white roses, and orange blossoms.  The ceremony was performed by the Rev TW Dunn (pastor of the church), and Mr Passmore presided at the organ.  The bride was given away by her father, and as the bridal party left the church, the combined choirs of Christ Church and the Presbyterian Church sang the hymn The Voice That Breathed o'er Eden.  The bride wore white duchesse satin; trimmed with white passementerie and chiffon, veil and wreath of orange blossoms and lilies of the valley, and carried a shower bouquet.

Two gold cable bangles and a gold brooch set with pearls were worn by the bride, being the gifts of Dr and Mrs Core, of Glasgow, Scotland (relatives of the bride).  Mrs Sydney Carter (mother of the bride) wore a handsome black grenat silk, passementerie trimmings, and bonnet to match.  The bridesmaids were Miss Golledge, in white China silk, with buttercup trimmings and picture hat to match; Miss Todd, in a white ottoman silk, passementerie trimmings, and picture hat to match; Miss Seymour, white ottoman silk, passementerie trimmings, and Victoria bonnet.  Each wore a gold brooch and carried bouquets, gifts of the bridegroom.  The bridegroom was attended by Mr E Hudson as best man, while Messrs Noble, A Carter, and J Brunton acted as grooms men.

After the wedding ceremony Mr and Mrs Sydney Carter (parents of the bride) held a reception at the Petersham Town Hall, which was decorated with palms, flags, bunting, and orange blossoms.  About seventy friends accepted invitations.  The Rev TW Dunn, in a felicitous speech, proposed the health of The Bride and Bridegroom.  The toast of The Bridesmaids was proposed by Mr HH Rogers, and that of The Parents of the Bride and Bridegroom by Mr J Brunton.  During the afternoon songs were contributed by Miss Seymour, Miss Fear, and Mr J Tucker, while Mr E Quail's orchestra played some selections in good style.  The catering was entrusted to Mr Saunders, of Randwick, and was excellently carried out.  The happy couple left for Leura on the mountains amid showers of rice and rose leaves.  The bride's travelling dress was of dark green cloth, buttercup silk, and gimp trimmings, hat to match.  The wedding presents were numerous.

Appendix B

Elsie Moore’s wedding

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 29 October 1921, page 9, Family Notices

WEDDINGS

MOORE-RAE

The marriage was celebrated at the Presbyterian Church, Pymble, on October 22 of Elsie, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Sidney Moore, of Birchencliffe, Pymble, to Captain Douglas F Rae MC, youngest son of Mrs Rae and the late Alexander Rae, of Taloumbi, Pymble.  The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a draped gown of white crepe meteor.  The divided train fell from the shoulders and formed a bow at the end, with a spray of orange blossom in the centre.  Her embroidered veil (lent by the bridegroom's sister, Mrs Jack Finlayson, of Armidale) was held in place by a tiny band of orange blossom, and her bouquet was of white carnations, lilac, and sweet peas. The bridesmaids Misses Enid Green, Clara and Mary Moore (sisters of the bride), and little Bobbie White-wore frocks of primrose taffeta, finished with forget-me-nots and hand-made flowers, whilst their poke bonnets were of taffeta, lined with forget-me-nots and primroses.  The two elder maids carried posies of delphiniums and sweet peas, and the little girls baskets of forget-me-nots.  The service was fully choral.  The best man, Captain Gregory Blaxland, and the groomsman, Lieutenant Gerald Cadden, were in uniform.  The interior of the church was decorated by girl friends of the bride, and a wedding bell was made from fruit tree blossoms.  The officiating clergymen were the Rev JJ Gilmore and the Rev Jamieson Williams.  Mr and Mrs Moore afterwards entertained over 130 guests at their home, Birchencliffe.

Clara Moore’s wedding

The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 10 October 1925, page 10 

WEDDINGS

ROGERS-MOORE

The marriage was celebrated at the Presbyterian Church, Pymble, on October 7, by the Rev JJ Gilmore, of Clara Birchenall, second daughter of Mr and Mrs Sidney Moore, of Birchencliffe, Pymble, to John Noble Rogers, eldest son of Mr and Mrs Harry Rogers, Dunrobin, Roseville.  The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a draped gown of white satin, hand embroidered in pearls.  Her court train, which fell from the shoulders, was lined with pale blue ruched georgette, and embroidered in pearls, and her silk net veil was held in place with sprays of orange blossom.  The bride was attended by little Suzanne Rae, who wore a frock of white linen, trimmed with blue forgot-me-nots.  The three bridesmaids were Miss Phyllis Thomas, Miss Peggy Rogers, and Miss Mary Moore, who wore georgette frocks of primrose, pale pink, and blue respectively, trimmed with gold lace. They all wore floral hats, and carried posies of primroses, carnations, and forget-me-nots.  Mr Jim Curdie (surveyor) was best man, and the groomsmen were Mr Haydn Buswell and Mr Pat Rogers.  After the ceremony, Mr and Mrs Sidney Moore entertained about 140 guests at their home.  The bride's travelling frock was of crepe meteor, trimmed with grey pleated georgette, and worn with a grey georgette hat.

Appendix C

The Property and Survey Branch of the Department of the Interior

The Property and Survey Branch of the Department of the Interior was responsible for the following functions:

From 1932:

· Geodesy (International Map of the World and 129^th meridian)

· Lands and Surveys

· Lands Acquisitions Act 1906-1936

· Properties, (a) transferred, (b) acquired (c) rented.

From 1947:

· Accommodation for Commonwealth Departments

· Geodesy

· Lands for Commonwealth purposes (both acquisition and leasing)

· Lands Acquisition Act, 1906-1936

· Mapping, topographical and geographical, including international and aeronautical maps

· Property, Commonwealth, management of

· Surveys, land, engineering, topographical and geodetic.

In a re-organisation of the Department of the Interior in May 1951, the Property and Survey Branch was abolished and replaced by:

· Property Section

· National Mapping Section

· ACT Planning and Development Branch which was formed principally from the Property and Survey Branch within the Department of the Interior. 

The ACT Planning and Development Branch also had certain town planning functions which were transferred from the Director of Works ACT.  From 1951, the new Branch was also responsible for land, engineering, and topographical surveys as well as ACT parks and gardens.

In 1957, the functions of planning and development for the national capital were transferred to the National Capital Development Commission.  The residue of the former ACT Planning and Development Branch became the Lands and Survey Branch.

Source: National Archives of Australia (undated), Agency notes for Agency No CA 738 and Agency No CA 861.

Appendix D

Conference on the National Survey and Mapping of Australia

Parliament House, Canberra 15-19 January 1945

Attendees

Commonwealth Survey Committee

FM Johnston, Commonwealth Surveyor General (Chairman)

Lieutenant Commander GD Tancred, Hydrographic Branch, Department of the Navy

Colonel L Fitzgerald, Director of Survey, Department of the Army

Group Captain WH Garing, Department of Air

AR McComb, Chief Inspector, Ground Organisation, Department of Civil Aviation

G Ruddock, Department of Post-War Reconstruction

JNC Rogers, Department of the Interior (Secretary)

Representatives

Queensland: JP Harvey, Surveyor General

New South Wales: AM Allen, Director of Reconstruction and Development; and HG Barrie, Acting Surveyor General

Tasmania: CM Pitt, Surveyor General and Secretary for Lands

South Australia: CM Hambridge, Surveyor General

Western Australia: WV Fyfe, Surveyor General

Victoria: OG Pearson, Surveyor General

Northern Territory: AR Miller, Chief Surveyor

Observer

RG Dick, Surveyor General, New Zealand

State Officers

Tasmania: ED Blackwood, Staff Surveyor, Mapping Branch

Western Australia: P Stanley, Chief Draftsman

Queensland: ET Holdaway, Cartographer

Commonwealth Officers

Dr HG Raggatt, Director, Mineral Resources Survey

Dr MR Jacobs, Commonwealth Forestry Bureau

Lieutenant Colonel JG Gillespie, Department of the Army

Wing Commander VS Vincent, Department of Air

Squadron Leader Thompson, Department of Air

E Pyke, Department of Civil Aviation

HL Hatfield, EP Balyliss, WJ Sear, AC Booth, Department of the Interior

Appendix E

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette Notices

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

The City Area Leases Ordinance 1936-1951

DETERMINATION OF LEASE

In pursuance of the powers conferred by section 22 (5) (b) of the City Area Leases Ordinance 1936-1951 and in accordance with the provisions of clause 3 (a) of the lease of Block 13, Section 7, Division of Ainslie, in the Australian Capital Territory, granted to Bert John Corey, Volume 14 Folio 1383, I, John Noble Core Rogers, delegate of the Minister of State for the Interior, hereby determine the said lease as from the date hereof for non-compliance with a

covenant thereof.

Dated this eighteenth day of September 1952

JN ROGERS

Delegate of the Minister of State for the Interior

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

The City Area Leases Ordinance 1936-1951

DETERMINATION OF LEASE

In pursuance of the powers conferred by section 22 (5) (b) of the City Area Leases Ordinance 1936-1951 and in accordance with the provisions of clause 3 (a) of the lease of Block 6, Section 47, Division of Braddon, in the Australian
Capital Territory granted to Peter Maxwell Kerridge, Volume 17 Folio 1637, I, John Noble Core Rogers, delegate of the Minister of State for the Interior, hereby determine the said lease as from the date hereof for non-compliance with a covenant thereof.

Dated this eighteenth day of September 1952

JN ROGERS

Delegate of the Minister of State for the Interior

Source: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No 63, 18 September 1952, page 3764.  

Appendix F

Death and Funeral Notices for John Noble Core Rogers

Deaths

Rogers, John Noble Core.

October 14, 1971 at Canberra, late of 26 La Perouse St, Manuka.  Loved husband of Clara and father of John.

Funerals

Rogers.  The funeral of the late Mr John Noble Core Rogers of 26 La Perouse St, Manuka will take place on Monday morning, October 18.  A service will be held in the chapel of the Norwood Park Crematorium, Barton Highway at 10.30am.  No flowers by request.

Canberra Funeral Directors

A.F.D.A.

75 Canberra Avenue Kingston

957838

Source: The Canberra Times, Saturday 16 October 1971, page 25.