With a history spanning 187 years, the authority now called Landgate, has seen momentous changes. From the days of survey expeditions, to world-leading innovations in online mapping and the delivery of land information, Ron Hutchinson has given us a fascinating and insightful history of Western Australia's first government department.

Subject to instructions from a distant, dictatorial and disengaged colonial power; the colony's first surveyor general, John Septimus Roe set up a system of land administration that is still recognizable today.  The work of his successors, Fraser, Weld, Forrest all the way through to Searle and Bradford has shaped the way we understand one of the largest jurisdictions in the world.

This work is not just of interest to those in the spatial science and land tenure industries, but to anyone who relishes tales of the pioneering spirit and the building of a modern society. It provides an integral and informative addition to our shared understanding of Western Australia.

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