Story: Charting the sea floor
The Acheron was a 655-tonne wooden paddle steamer which also had sails. Between 1848 and 1851 it surveyed much of the New Zealand coast. Many of the charts created by its crew were used for the next century. By the time the New Zealand navy obtained its first survey vessel, the Lachlan, in 1949, the majority of available charts were nearly 100 years old.
About this item
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: C-059-006
Ink and wash drawing by unidentified artist
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
