Ken McDonald Surveys

02/04/2026

I have completing a large survey west of Charters Towers this week.... after searching for many old reference trees and survey posts the last few days I finally found a reliable mark to close my survey off...
Below is a picture of a stump from a reference tree cut in 1909... the tree is long felled and burnt, however the stump remained.... I popped off the face of the stump to reveal the scar on the inside left after the tree had re-grown around and into the low bench cut into the tree for the "dicky hole". Unbelievable agreement with original plan from 1909... from a datum on the road frontage 5km away I only missed the bench in the tree by approximately 0.4m.... I could then calculate witth certainty for other marks and found an OSP hole/remains.... a pretty satisfying job. Tree stump and OSP hole/remains in pics below

19/10/2025

19/10/2025

So... I was out at Charlotte Plains recently with Trekabout helping out on a photo tour... During a chat with Robyn Russell, she told me about a survey reference tree she knew up near the bore... she kindly met me up there the next afternoon and took me straight to it.... Such a lot of history at Charlotte Plains, Robyn has some great stories, she is an amazing lady.

13/08/2025

This a classic, similar to a comment from Dave, one of my surveyors the other day... when we had a client question our fee's, his comment to me... " tell them it's $50 to hit the peg in... and $3000 to know where!!" 🤣🤣

Basic

13/08/2025

A couple of fence posts clearly identified as marking the boundary corner. The broad arrow indicates the post is now property of the crown, the R indicates it is marking the road boundary... This farmer at Pilton obviously knows they are boundary marks as the rest of the fence is long gone!!

13/08/2025

(1910)... Ironbark, now dead but still very stable. Broad arrow and lot number very clear. Farmer has fenced the line through the tree however the tree is actually a few meters off line inside Lot213.

13/08/2025

OSP placed in 1910... remarkably well preserved. location... Stonehenge, Qld

13/08/2025

Butt of OSP found partially burnt out about 200mm below the ground ... placed in 1889.

20/06/2025

In this pic... the stump of a reference tree can be seen, it was surveyed in 1887 and probably ringbarked and cut down by the farmer shortly after.
measuring from the stump using the original reference You can clearly see the discoloured soil and hole left by the survey post as it rotted/burnt/decayed over the last 138 years, ... I placed a new peg in the osp hole and an iron pin for the next surveyor whenever that may be!!!

20/06/2025

So I've spent the last few days doing fieldwork at Crows Nest on a reasonably large, very steep parcel last surveyed in the late 1880's.... I don't get out of the office enough these days, so I took the opportunity to do this survey myself as I enjoy re-tracing the old surveyors work...

Having found some old marks left by the original survey, I got inspired and took the opportunity to cut a reference tree... its been a while, but I broke out the tools and left behind this ironbark which will hopefully be around for some years to come...

14/03/2025

some of our vintage Instruments in the office collection to date... Wild T0, T1, T2 & T3... Troughton & Simms Transits and various old Chains, levels and tripods... including an 1860's sextant... starting to amass a museum!!