Biographical entry McDowall, Archibald (1841 - 1918)

Summary

Archibald McDowall was Surveyor-General for Queensland from 1891 until he retired on 30 June 1902. Born in Victoria and educated in Tasmania, McDowall joined the Surveyor-General's office in 1862 as a commissioner of crown lands. During his forty years service with the office, he made some important contributions to the mapping of Queensland and surveying in general. In 1962 he carried out the first town-survey of Roma, established the foundations of the triangulation survey of south Queensland, modernized surveying techniques by introducing the use of astronomical observations and telegraphic time-signals among other things, and was Chairman of the Queensland surveyors' board.

Details

Events

1861

Life event - Moved to Queensland

13 May 1862 - 7 Dec 1863

Career position - Commissioner for Crown Lands at West Maranoa with the Surveyor-General's Department

1863 - 1867

Career position - Commissioner for Maranoa

1867 - 1868

Career position - Commissioner for Warrego

1875 - 1885

Career position - District Surveyor for Maryborough

1877

Career position - Introduced the use of the standard steel tape to replace the chain for ground measurements

1883

Career position - Supervised field work which established the Jondaryan base line - the foundation of the triangulation survey of south Queensland

1885 - 1891

Career position - District Surveyor for Toowoomba

23 February 1891 - 30 June 1902

Career position - Surveyor-General

1892 - c. 1902

Career position - Chairman of the Queensland Surveyors' Board

1899

Career position - President of the Queensland Institute of Surveyors

1900

Career position - Member of the Royal Commission into railway extensions in Queensland

1 July 1902

Life event - Retired

Published resources

Book Sections

• Wilson, Paul D., 'McDowall, Archibald (1841-1918), Surveyor and Public Servant', in Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 10, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1986, pp. 261-262. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100255b.htm. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'McDowall, Archibald', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1468112. Details