The U.K.–Australian–New Zealand Charting Arrangement

Extract

In July 1963 the Hydrographic Department published a Notice to Mariners announcing the integration of charting arrangements between Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Because of the historical associations, the Hydrographer of the Navy was the primary charting authority in Australian and New Zealand waters until comparatively recently. Local Hydrographic Offices were set up, and these, not unnaturally, began to turn out products strongly resembling British Admiralty charts, to such an extent in fact that we were clearly wasting effort in recompiling British charts which virtually duplicated the originals. Facsimile reproduction seemed an attractive proposition. Unfortunately the normal arrangements for use of another authority's charts, as laid down by the International Hydrographic Bureau, do not allow for facsimile reproduction but special agreements can get round this difficulty.