Achieving the Impossible: The 1∶500 000 ‘Irrigation Map’ of South Africa, 1935–1937

Abstract

Since 1906, South Africa boasted an excellent geodetic framework, and in 1920 an official Trigonometrical Survey Office (TSO) was established. In spite of these achievements, the country, by the 1930s, still lacked reliable topographical maps. One reason for this was that the secondary and tertiary triangulations of the country were still incomplete; another was that the decision-making process as regards surveys and mapping rested with a variety of statutory bodies instead of just one. In 1934, A. D. Lewis, Director of the Department of Irrigation, committed his department to execute a general topographical survey of the country and produce a topographical map on a scale of 1∶500 000. Lewis’ decision met with much resistance from within the country and abroad, but the project was completed in a record period of 4 years. Published just before the Second World War, the map was of inestimable value to the South African Defense Force. It not only became the standard topographical map of large parts of South Africa for many years, but its contents also figured in the first map series of the TSO.