Geological Survey of Victoria

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The Geological Survey of Victoria was under this name the top geoscientific authority of the Australian state of Victoria . Through the merger with the Petroleum Branch of the Ministry of Mining, the authority was merged into the new state agency GeoScience Victoria . The seat was and is Melbourne .

development

The establishment of the Geological Survey of Victoria with the discovery of gold connected in the 1851st The then governor Charles La Trobe recognized the necessity of prospecting his area from a technical point of view. As a result, he requested a geologist from the colonial administration in London . Alfred Selwyn (1824–1902) was entrusted with this task . The establishment of the Victoria geological service coincided with the arrival of Selwyn in 1852. A geological map dated 1853 of a region between Malmsbury and Bendigo is believed to be the oldest of its kind in the state of Victoria. In the 1860s, geological mapping under his direction had gained worldwide recognition for its quality.

At the end of the 19th century, the work of the geological service was less oriented towards scientific and more towards mining and economic objectives. The mapping on the Walhalla gold field required exploratory excavations with tunneling. In the case of existing underground mining facilities, mapping was carried out with the help of the inspection of the tunnel system.

Exploring possible coal deposits has been a priority since the geological service was founded. The deposits around Cape Paterson , which have been exploited since the late 1850s, were never able to meet the colony's own needs. Further explorations in southern Gippsland did not produce the desired success. When a 1909 strike in the coal mines of New South Wales severely affected the fuel supply in Victoria, the explorations were resumed. They found what they were looking for in the vicinity of Wonthaggi . The mining in this region continued until 1968. The government paid tribute to the discovery of the coal seams in 1910 with the opening of the Geological Museum on Macarthur Street in East Melbourne . Its existence was always controversial. In 1965 the building was demolished and the collections of geological , paleontological and technical exhibits were given to the Museum of Victoria , where they are now kept and exhibited.

In the 1920s, the search for crude oil increased. The first discoveries by drilling in the sea area of ​​the Gippsland produced usable stocks. The search continued for several decades. In 1955, the oil exploration began to be relocated to the offshore area. In the case of the oil and gas deposits discovered in this way, reserves were forecast for production well into the 21st century.

tasks

The GeoScience Victoria , formed in 2004, is a department of the Earth Resources Development Division (ERDD) in the Department of Primary Industries (German: Ministry for Key Industries ).

Modern tasks include:

  • Exploration of new deposits of mineral raw materials and crude oil
  • Promotion of the state of Victoria as an investment location for the coal and steel industry
  • Provision of own geoscientific information and ensuring global access to information
  • Advising the government on the size and value of available mineral resources

Web links

further reading

  • Thomas A. Darragh: The Geological Survey of Victoria Under Alfred Selwyn, 1852-1868 . in: Historical Records of Australian Science. Vol. 7 (1987), No. 1, pp. 1-25