In 1905 a series of plans depicting Hobart were published by the Metropolitan Drainage Board. Created in 1891, this organisation had been formed with the purpose of improving the cityÃâs sanitation by placing water closets (flushed toilets) in every house, linked to a centralised sewerage system.
The BoardÃâs initial purpose was the creation of detailed plans to allow estimates of the cost of new sewerage and drainage to be made. Work on a ÃâskeletonÃâ survey began in 1892 and were completed by 1895. A detailed survey was then commenced, with engineer Alfred Mault writing its scale would be large enough to Ãâshow all the details of existing features of the ground, and of all works upon it, such as buildings, of all sorts, fences, drains, gully-grates, gutters; water and gas pipes, valves and fittings; lamps, telegraph and other posts; footpaths, tramway lines.Ãâ (A Mault, May 22, 1895).
The detailed survey took over ten years to complete. The first plans to be published in 1905 were of the Hobart central area. It would not be until 1909 that the survey would be declared complete. By this time the Board was overseeing the construction of drainage throughout Hobart and the connection of homes and businesses to the network.
Since this time the detailed plans completed by the Metropolitan Drainage Board have provided a basis for planning throughout Hobart. Providing a snapshot of the city at the end of the 19th Century, the plans are also a key source for researchers interested in the history and heritage of Hobart. Today hardcopy and digitised versions of the plans are part of the holdings of the Hobart City Council and the State Library of Tasmania.
The plans were georeferenced by Dr Richard Tuffin as part of the Australian Research Council project Putting Death in its Place (LP200300843). The plans georeferenced primarily incorporate sheets covering the Hobart area (Hobart city centre, SullivanÃâs Cove, Battery Point, Glebe and North Hobart). A total of 64 map sheets were georeferenced: 61 from the State Library of Tasmania and three from the Hobart City Council. The latter cover the waterfront area from the Domain to Murray Street.
The ARC projectÃâs research team includes: Associate Professor Rebecca Kippen (Monash University), Associate Professor Lionel Frost (Monash University), Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart (University of New England), Professor Martin Shanahan (University of Gothenburg/University of South Australia), Dr John Wilson (University of South Australia). Professor Kris Inwood (University of Guelph, Canada), Mr Ross Latham (Libraries Tasmania), Dr Monika Schwarz (Monash University), Dr Richard Tuffin (University of New England) and Dr Trudy Cowley.
State Library of Tasmania holdings: ÃâHobart plans Hobart City Council Metropolitan Drainage BoardÃâ, 1905-1947, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/628185/628185-1
