The Institution of Surveyors Victoria (ISV), is the peak body for the surveying profession in Victoria. ISV was originally known as the Victorian Institute of Surveyors (VIS), and was established in 1874. ISV is the oldest professional surveying body in both Victoria and Australia.
Role ISV promotes best practice, professional growth and continuing professional development (CPD) for land surveyors and especially for land (cadastral) surveyors. ISV also pursues strong connections with government, business, academe and the community. The key functions undertaken include: the conduct of congresses and seminars, which is especially important to enable Licensed Surveyors to fulfil mandatory CPD requirements, known as Further Professional Education or Training (FPET) under Section 7 of the Surveying Act 2004 for the Surveyors Registration Board of Victoria (SRBV)- SRBV does not provide FPET activities and is dependent on ISV and other bodies professional publishing including the institution's journal "Traverse" partnering with universities that teach surveying helping to formulate educational standards for cadastral surveyors conveying the opinions and expert advice of the surveying profession to government representation on SRBV engaging with other professional and industry bodies.ISV Organization, https://surveying.org.au/SRBV FPET, https://www.surveyorsboard.vic.gov.au/content/82/Further-Professional-Education.aspx
Organization ISV's board of directors is chaired by the elected president and its office is in Melbourne. From its first meeting on 7 April 1874, ISV members included surveyors from across all regions of the state. ISV now has four regional groups: the Gippsland Group, the Glenelg Grampians Group, the Murray Group and the North Central Victoria Group.
History Victoria was under the then colony of New South Wales until it became a separate colony in July 1851, and it gained self-governance from Britain in 1855. Upon the Federation of Australia, Victoria became an Australian state. Throughout, Victoria's surveyors have contributed to the state's development.
Establishment and incorporation VIS which was established in 1874, was originally incorporated in 1895. In 1952, ISV merged with other Australian state surveying institutions to form the Institution of Surveyors Australia. However, it retained its separate incorporation, whilst becoming a state division of ISA. In 2007, ISV foresaw the closure of ISA and re-commenced as an institution in its own right. ISA closed as of 1 July 2009.
Robert Lewis John Ellery was the first serving President of VIS, serving for the period 1874–77. Ellery was elected Fellow of VIS in 1877, the first to be awarded the honour.
1874: VIS inaugural meeting VIS held its first "Ordinary Meeting" at Weber's Hotel (also known as Hockin's Hotel and Assembly Rooms), on the north west corner of Elizabeth and Lonsdale Streets, Melbourne on Saturday 9 May 1874 commencing at 12.30pm. The meeting was chaired by Stuart Murray MA CE, Secretary, and the minutes list the others present as Lt.Col.(then Major) Thomas Couchman CE, Vice-President; Thomas Bingham Muntz (Surveyor and Shire Engineer at Metcalf near Castlemaine); William Davidson ISO CE. (Government Surveyor); and Henry Archdall (Licensed Surveyor and Mining Surveyor).
The meeting noted a letter to the Surveyor-General Alexander John Skene MA JP dated 7 April 1874 informing him of his election to the office of President of the Institute. The meeting also noted a response letter from the Acting Secretary to A.J.Skene dated 28 April 1874 declining the office of President, as he was obliged by pressure of public business to vacate his position. As the inaugural meeting minutes make no mention of electing Major Robert Lewis John Ellery CMG RRAS FRAS to President, it is understood that only after the meeting was Ellery elected President and accepted the role.
The meeting addressed various correspondence, reviewed the members’ list, and admitted thirty-eight surveyors as Members of VIS. Of particular note, these included Skene (Surveyor-General) and Ellery (Government Astronomer) and future Surveyors-General Alexander Black, Michael Callanan, and Samuel Kingston Vickery.Meeting Minutes of the Institution of Surveyors at Weber's Hotel Elizabeth Street Melbourne dated 9 May 1874 (recorded by Stuart Murray, CE MA, acting as Secretary pro tem) In addition to these thirty-eight admitted as members, Secretary Stuart Murray, in conjunction with the Vice President Thomas Couchman, Thomas Muntz and John Lardner (admitted member) were tasked with making enquiries as to the qualifications of nine other surveyors seeking membership.
Founding members listed: Robert Maxwell, Thomas H. Bell, Peter Simpson, (William) Sherwood Vernon, James (Rolland) Maxwell, Robert (Henry) Nankivell Jr, John (Grimes) Peers, Thomas E. McNulty, John McNulty, Edmond Colbert, Reginald (Augustus Frederick) Murray, Clarence Smith, Mark Amos, Henry Davidson, William (Lupton) Hargreave, Stuart Murray, Walter Cherry, Henry Archdall, Thomas (Bingham) Muntz, August J.M. Tuxen, Thomas Couchman, William Davidson, John Lardner, Samuel (Kingston) Vickery, William (Gregson) Couchman, Thomas Thomson, Joseph (Lowe) Shaw, Joseph Smith, Thomas H. Turner, Alexander (John) Skene, Robert (Lewis John) Ellery, Michael Callanan, William Thornhill, William (Knowles) Andrews, Alexander Black, Frederick (Joy) Pirani, William (Henry) Angove, John (Samuel) Langtree.Members admitted as listed in the original minutes of inaugural meeting 9 May 1874.
The Institute met at the Royal Society of Victoria, until March 1880, when rendezvous were changed to the Melbourne Exchange (erected behind the old Hall of Commerce, Collins Street West) which was considered a more central and convenient meeting place.
1892: First Intercolonial Conference of Surveyors On 31 October 1892, at Customs House in Melbourne, representatives of the respective Surveyors Examination Boards of the Australian Colonies and New Zealand convened the first Intercolonial Conference of Surveyors where it was proposed and agreed to introduce reciprocity for registration of surveyors. It was Robert Ellery, Chair of the Victorian Board of Examiners for Land Surveyors who introduced the proposal. Ellery was also elected President of the intercolonial Conference of Surveyors. At the time of this conference, Australia was entering a depression and the Surveyor-General position had remained unfilled since Surveyor-General Charles Whybrow Ligar had retired in May 1892. Ellery was also the Government Astronomer. He had worked under Surveyors-General Ligar, Alexander John Skene and Alexander Black. Reciprocity has largely continued since that agreement.Report of the Intercolonial Conference of Surveyors (The Surveyor 12-12-1892 Vol. V No.12 pp.411 to 417)
1927: First Interstate Conference of the Australian Institutes of Surveyors VIS convened the First Interstate Conference of the Australian Institutes of Surveyors in Melbourne, 2–4 November 1927. The conference was opened by the Minister for Lands and Water Supply, Henry Bailey, who was also the President of the Board of Land and Works. The Conference Welcome was delivered by the VIS President J.G. Gillespie who conveyed that cooperation of the respective State Institutes was paramount and unfortunately a proposed Conference in 1926 was unable to proceed, which led to Victoria taking on the task of convening. Gillespie spoke on the important lead role in the planning and development of Australian. Also of note, the Conference was informed of the judging of the competition of the plan for the Federal Capital design, led by surveyor Mr. J. Alexander Smith, appointed by the Federal Government after being nominated by the surveying profession.First Interstate Conference of the Australian Institutes of Surveyors, 2-4 Nov 1927, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00050326.1928.10435961
1952: The Institution of Surveyors Australia Established In 1952, VIS merged with other Australian state surveying institutions to form the Institution of Surveyors Australia (ISA). At that point, it became known as the Melbourne Division of ISA.
1956: Olympic Games Melbourne The Melbourne Division of ISA provided technical advisory support to the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games Organizing Committee. Although requested to take on a much bigger role, the Division agreed to provide expert advice on measuring three key events, viz. the Marathon run and also the 50 km and 20 km walks. The Olympic Organizing Committee adopted the Division's advice.Melbourne Division Quarterly Report, Australian Surveyor, Vol 16, Issue 4, 1956, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00050326.1956.10437349
1957-59: Key division decisions It was reported that the two major decisions were made by the Divisional Committee during 1957. Firstly, that due to the growth of ISV, a full-time Manager Secretary, Mr. Neil Smith was appointed in May 1957. The second key decision was the Committee agreed to recommend that the new registered name of the organization would be the Institution of Surveyors Victoria, whilst also retaining the name the Institution of Surveyors Australia, Victorian Division. It seems the Committee and its Councillors to ISA were concerned about proposed changes to the ISA constitution and wanted to protect Victorian interests. It was not until the quarterly meeting of June 1959, that the new name, the Institution of Surveyors Victoria was officially registered. Further, ISV was also referred to as ISV acting for the Victorian Division of ISA.Melbourne Division, Annual Report, Australian Surveyor, Vol 17, 1958, Issue 2, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00050326.1958.10440370Victorian Division, Quarterly Report, Australian Surveyor, Vol 17, 1959, Issue 7, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00050326.1959.10440464?_gl=1*y00u6w*_ga*MTgwMzA0ODk4NC4xNzEyMTM4MTMy*_ga_0HYE8YG0M6*MTcxMjEzODEzMi4xLjEuMTcxMjEzODI2OC4wLjAuMA..*_gcl_au*OTI2NzkxNDM5LjE3MTIxMzgyNjI.&_ga=2.264602319.1560807368.1712138132-1803048984.1712138132
1974: ISV centenary ISV celebrated its centenary at the 17th Australian Survey Congress in Melbourne, 23 February - 1 March 1974. The congress was held at Old Customs House, which now is the Immigration Museum, Melbourne. His Excellency, Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe KCMG KCVO KBE CB DSO, officially opened the congress on 25 February 1974. Of significance, the congress keynote address, “A Surveyor Looks at the Environment – the Next 100 Years”, was delivered by Professor Desmond O'Connor, the Foundation Professor of Environmental Studies at Murdoch University. Professor O'Connor was originally a surveyor.Summary Report of the 17th Australian Survey Congress, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00050326.1974.10440752Murdoch University Vale, 7 June 2023, https://www.murdoch.edu.au/news/articles/murdoch-s-environmental-science-pioneer-vale-to-the-prof
1994: FIG XX Congress