Story: Modern mapping and surveying

Meridional circuits

This map shows the 28 meridional circuits established by John Turnbull Thomson in the late 1870s. Each circuit was a block of land with a primary station, whose location was carefully established by astronomical observations. The station formed the basis of the triangulation networks which followed.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1879, H-19 (B-K 969-H19/4-5)

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Melanie Lovell-Smith, 'Modern mapping and surveying - Government surveying and mapping, 1870–1900', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/18892/meridional-circuits (accessed 3 May 2024)

Story by Melanie Lovell-Smith, published 24 Nov 2008, updated 1 Aug 2018