Historic plans collection (1834-1984)

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

• the place name for the area you want to research
• the old Parish name (view parish maps and note the name in red)  South East Victoria | North East Victoria | North West Victoria | South West Victoria
• the names of major rivers, borders or landmarks
• type of plan e.g. cemetery, coastal survey, railway 

Note:  We recommend viewing our Historic maps collection on our Map Warper Tool laid over a contemporary map. To find a map in Map Warper:

• Enter the contemporary or Parish place name 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 map. 
   

You can search this record series online for a particular plan by parish, town, type or other place name. Some maps include a surveyor name (e.g. Hoddle).
 

The historic plans collection consists of over 11,000 early surveys and other kinds of maps dating from 1836 to the 1980s. It is an important resource for exploring the beginnings of European settlement in Victoria, and changes in land use over time. Forty-eight different classification codes were assigned to groups of map and plans - for example Cemeteries (CEM), Miscellaneous Coastal Survey (MCS) and Explorers Routes (EXP). These provide a guide to the content of the plans and divide this large collection into smaller groupings.
 

The records were received, created and maintained by various agencies responsible for land management from 1836 until the 1980s. 
 

The majority of the physical plans are closed to public access for preservation reasons, however you can view digitised images of the plans online by searching above.