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Kōrero: Charting the sea floor

Lachlan survey

Video file

This film footage outlines the methods and equipment used by the hydrographic ship Lachlan as it surveyed the New Zealand sea floor in 1953. Two sailors fix sextants on two known points: a lighthouse and a mountain peak. This gives them two angles between the landmarks and the ship. The point where the angles intersect marks the ship’s position.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: W3589/16PP14

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Lionel Carter, Charting the sea floor – Making and using charts, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/video/5949/lachlan-survey (accessed 5 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Lionel Carter, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.