Royal Australian Survey Corps

The Royal Australian Survey Corps (RASvy) was a Corps of the Australian Army that was formed on 1 July 1915 and disbanded on 1 July 1996. This Corps was responsible for the mapping of Australia and countries where the Australian Defence Force was deployed on operations.

The RASvy was also responsible for producing aeronautical charts for the Royal Australian Air Force and the printing of hydrographic charts for the Royal Australian Navy. When it was disbanded, the roles previously filled by the Survey Corps were returned to the Royal Australian Engineers [cite web
title =The History of the Corps of Royal Australian Engineers
publisher =Australian Army Engineering Museum and Heritage Park
url =http://www.aamme.com.au/histRAE.htm
accessdate = 2007-03-29 ] via the geomatic trade.cite web
title =Stay Army: Royal Australian Army Engineers
publisher =Australian Department of Defence
url =http://www.defence.gov.au/army/stayarmy/RAE_files/RAE.html
accessdate = 2007-03-29 ] Although one of the smallest Army Corps, the Royal Australian Survey Corps was one of the most senior, being preceded only by Armoured, Artillery and Engineers. [cite web
title =The History of the Corps of Royal Australian Survey Corp
publisher =Australian Army Engineering Museum and Heritage Park
url =http://www.aamme.com.au/histSVY.htm
accessdate = 2007-03-29 ]

Unlike other Australian Corps that spent the majority of their time training in preparation for war, the RASvy had an operational peacetime role which involved mapping Australia and its territories. Some would argue that this role, may have ultimately caused its demise, with a civilianization of non-war-like soldier activities.

The Australian Survey Corps was established on the 1 July 1915 and was designated "Royal" in 1948. [ [http://rasurvey.org/index.html Royal Australian Survey Corps ] ]

Units of the Royal Australian Survey Corps were:

* Army Survey Regiment that was based out of Bendigo, Victoria
* 1st Topographic Survey Squadron, now part of the Royal Australian Engineers, based out of Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane
* 2nd Field Survey Squadron based out of Sydney
* 4th Field Survey Squadron, Keswick Barracks, Adelaide, SA
* 5th Field Survey Squadron that was based out of Perth
* School of Military Survey that was initially based out of Balcombe, Victoria and subsequently out of Bonegilla, Victoria it was superseded by the Geomatic Engineering Wing of the School of Military Engineering based at Steele Barracks in Moorebank, New South Wales

Footnotes