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Record series

Index to Surveys in Alpha-numerical Order by Name of Survey (Minerals and Petroleum)

VPRS 16209
1939 - 1999
Open
North Melbourne
About Record items Record groupings Related record series Related functions

Agencies

This record series was created by:
Mines Department (also known as Department of Mines and Mining Department) ( VA612 ): 1939 - 1977
Department of Minerals and Energy ( VA611 ): 1977 - 1985
Department of Industry and Office of Economic Planning (previously known as Department of Industry and Economic Planning) ( VA3005 ): 1990
Department of Manufacturing and Industry Development ( VA3012 ): 1990 - 1992
Department of Energy and Minerals ( VA3035 ): 1992 - 1995
Department of Agriculture, Energy and Minerals ( VA3744 ): 1995 - 1996
Department of Natural Resources and the Environment ( VA3972 ): 1996 - 1999
Department of Industry, Technology and Resources ( VA2661 ): 1985 - 1990
Agencies responsible for this record series:
Department of Primary Industries ( VA 4563 ): 2002 - present

Date Range

Series date range: 1939 - 1999
Series in custody: 1965 - 1999
Contents in custody: 1939 - 1999

Function / Content

The Department's principle identifier for a survey was the name determined by the department responsible for minerals and petroleum exploration.

The Department's principle identifier for a survey was the department name. The Department's secondary identifier for a survey is the G Number.

It was hoped that a national survey naming scheme would takeover from the Victorian-only scheme but, as of 2008, this has not occurred.

Some examples of survey types are:
- seismic reflection surveys
- seismic refraction surveys
- magnetic surveys
- gravity surveys
- geochemical surveys
- electromagnetic surveys.

How to use the records

Minerals and petroleum companies were obliged to request permission from the department to carry out exploratory surveys.

The surveys were each named using an alpha-numeric code, for example, G 73 B. In this instance G stands for Gippsland Basin; 73 represents year 1973, and B indicates the sequential survey according to the Department register for that company in that year (A = first, B = second, C = third and so on). The different types of reports were listed on the index cards, for example, Seismic airgun readings, microfilm of velocity data in Bay N, etc.

The department placed a lot of importance on the uniqueness of the survey name. If the name was ambiguous according to the register, then a new unique name was generated.

Recordkeeping system

The index to surveys was arranged in alphabetical order by name of survey. The card index was superseded by the development of dBMap Oracle, an electronic database, in the mid-1990s within the Department of Primary Industries. Details that were on the index cards were also recorded in the dBMap database in a more structured manner.