Historic plan collection (1836-1984)

The following information may help you find records of interest to you:

• the place name for the area you want to research
• the name of the land parish - these can be found in red on a key plan of Victoria - select the appropriate part of Victoria:  South East Victoria | North East Victoria | North West Victoria | South West Victoria
• the names of major rivers
• type of plan, for example, cemetery, coastal survey, railway line, telegraph route, road, water supply works

Note:  We recommend viewing these plans on our Map Warper Tool laid over a contemporary map. To find a plan in Map Warper:

• Enter the contemporary place name or the name of the land parish in the search field and click 'search'.          
• Or, go to the 'Find Maps by Location' tab, type the contemporary place name into the search field and click 'find location.'
• Click on your chosen map and go to the 'Preview' tab to view the map placed over its contemporary location. You can use the transparency slider to change the opacity of the plan. 
   

You can search this collection online for a particular plan by parish, township, type of plan or other place name. Please note many plans are identified by reference to land parish and township names only and many other location names may not work if you use them as your search term. Some, but not all, plans can also be search by surveyor name, for example, Hoddle.
 

The historic plan collection consists of over 11,000 survey and other plans dating from 1836 to the 1980s. It is an important resource for exploring the beginnings and expansion of European settlement in Victoria, and changes in land use over time. 

The collection is arranged into forty-eight different plan sub-collections. These sub-collections - for example, Cemeteries (CEM), Miscellaneous Coastal Survey (MCS), and Explorers Routes (EXP), provide a guide to the content of the plans.

This collection was created, titled and maintained by the various agencies responsible for Crown land management from 1836 until the 1980s. 
 

Order the original record for viewing in the Reading Room, or view the digital image of the record online (if digitised).