Cadastral Analysis: Crown Boundary - Term Paper Example

Cadastral Studies: Crown Boundary Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Cadastral Studies: Crown Boundary Introduction Crown land boundaries are those land parcels, which are under the Crown and controlled by the state or government. The boundaries of such areas are based on the natural resources such as shorelines or seas. The process of surveying such Crown property in the early 19th century was not professionally done and thus creating various challenges among surveyors especially in the 20th century (Prescott et al., 2008). As a result, various land and property laws were introduced to try to amend these earlier mistakes. Some of the mistakes included inaccuracies in measurements procedures because of use of poor equipment and methods of surveying. However, the current process has tremendously improved especially with the introduction of GPS in the 20th century. This paper intends to cover this issue of Crown boundaries in relation to Victoria region. “Crown Boundary” in Relation to Freehold Properties There are several factors and component that agree considered when a ‘Crown boundary is to be determined in relation to freehold property (Wilson, 2013). It is critical to point out that freehold property, unlike Lee, sews hold means that the ownership of the property is not fixed for a given period (Victoria et al., 2013). This means that one has the right of ownership of a given property but without specified period. This is unlike the leasehold system where the owner of a property is only given authority over land for a given period. Therefore, in line with the Crown boundary, one has the right over the use of land without consideration of the time. In other words, a person has the outright ownership of the land or property under consideration. In addition, under the Crown boundary in relation to freehold land ownership, the owner can as well go ahead and offer a lease to the third party. This means that there is a creation of relations sip between the tenant as well as the property owner. A person who is having a Crown property or land then gets back the property after the leases period is over. It also spells the fact that the same can earn from the property (Wilson, 2013). Therefore, a property owner is permanently guaranteed the possession of the same under the freehold agreement. It is as well important to realize that if one has a Crown land then the value of this property will often maintain its value when the market is sustained at an even level. However, the value of the same will increase if the price increases as well. This is direct opposite to leasehold where the property diminishes in value. Survey Procedures in the Original Crown Boundaries The surveying of Crown boundaries was based on the kind of parcels or allotment in question. It is critical to note that Crown boundary, in this case, refers to the surveyed boundaries of any Crown portion, portion, allotment or other land parcel, which has been marked on the ground, when Crown review process was taking place (Wilson, 2013). The survey plans were prepared by the Department of Crown Lands and Survey. This was until the introduction of the digital cadastral map base was introduced, which helped in defining the original subdivision of the state into Crown reserves, allotments, as well as roads into 2005 Parishes. The original plans of the land status were started by the Central Plan Office, which are Victoria’s virtual storeroom plans and surveys of State Government. This was available in the Department of Sustainability and Environment (Victoria et al., 2013). If a surveyor wanted to conduct investigations about the status of a given land or in the process of conducting a survey on the Crown boundary, he was supposed to have a copy of the most current record or the status of the land, including preceding Parish plans or Put Away Plans (Beckett & Colonial Institute , 2013). This information was vital since data were not available in other platforms and more so in assisting a surveyor in knowing file references on the Lands Department, gazetted dates, purpose of reserves, grant dates, grantee names, and allotment dimensions government roads identification as well as other reliable information. In some cases, surveyors who intended to conduct surveys on Crown boundary were required to have the consent of the surveyor general on the re-established position. Further, this Surveyor-General consent would be sought by those surveyors who were undertaking surveys that were to be lodged with Land Victoria, which involved the re-establishment of alignments of the government road as well as Crown boundaries, which were defined by shorelines of sea or lakes or watercourses (Reilly, 2011). This also involved situations where it was challenging to determine the alignments of the original road, the shoreline course or stream. Therefore, the requirement for any new survey on the Crown land boundaries, as well as on the Crown tenures, was bestowed on the Surveyor-General. In addition, if in any case the survey was required under the land policy, then the applicants for the freeholding of perpetual leases, which excluded War Service leases and Rangelands, were responsible for the engagement of a surveyor as well as meeting the cost of the survey process. This is also practiced in the current system. Based on this, the Crown Lands SA, found in the Department of Environment and Heritage would arrange surveys that are required for the freeholding of another land parcel. Surveyor was however not supposed to divide any perpetual lease inn consideration of the freeholding policy. Further, surveyors were to carry out the survey of Crown lands as well as conduct Crown tenure assessment where a waterfront reserve was to be altered or created under freehold conditions (Victoria et al., 2013). This also could apply on any unsurveyed boundaries of land and which was to be free.This could apply to any missing data that could result into difficulty in determining the location of a Crown boundary. Further, surveying process could involve the use of Gunter’s chain, which was later replaced by steel bands (Prescott et al., 2008). Further, the use of invar tapes would later be replaced by Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM) equipment, in order to improve efficiency in the marking of Crown boundaries. The limitations in the methods and equipment used in the Crown boundary surveys It is evident that Australia has had enough expertise in terms of cadastral surveys of land or parcel boundaries (Reilly, 2011). There were inadequacies that were experienced in the marking of the original Crown boundaries. One of the observable elements of this process was the application of the principle of retracement about Crown boundaries (Oliver, 2010). This meant that where the land is released by the Crown, then the boundaries of such parcel was to be determined with Crown survey marks, which delineated the subject allotment without considering the dimension. Further, in the Crown surveys, the linear accuracy was as low as 1:100-1/300-1/1000. At the same time, surveyors used the circumference, as well as bearings, which were based on magnetism. This led to the poor directional characteristics. The surveying method used in various jurisdictions has changed over time. In 19th century, the common method used was triangulation (Prescott et al., 2008). This method relied on the measurement of angles and solely used to come up with a hierarchy of networks in order to allow positioning of points in Australia. At the same time, the settlement of British and New Zealanders in Australia meant that there was need to open up the country for and holdings. The survey method in this particular time included the use of measuring wheels, Gunter’s chains, Kater’s compass, circumference, as well as even pacing where approximation was highly involved(Oliver, 2010). This was only done as long as the land corners were clearly marked and staked by the surveyors. In this connection, the accuracies of measurement as well as direction were highly compromised. Over time, the use of Gunter’s chain would later be replaced by steel bands (Prescott et al., 2008). In addition, the use of invar tapes was later replaced by Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM) equipment. It was in early 20th century that Global Positioning System (GPS) devices could be used. The improvement of surveying process with various equipment and devices was to ensure that accuracy in measurement was realized (Wilson, 2013). At the same time, compasses were later replaced by transits including using theodolites, as well as Total Stations. These latest devices were able to provide a combination of both distance and angular measurement with a single instrument of surveying. The use of unsophisticated instruments and equipment was undermining the actual determination of boundaries and thus increased land and property disputes. Challenges faced by Surveyors today due to these Inaccuracies There are several problems, which are being encountered about inaccuracies made in the Crown boundary surveys made in the 19th century. One of this is the issue of existing shortages in the Crown surveys. In line with this, surveyors find it challenging in determining the shortages that are in the process. There have been many deliberations on whether these shortages are proportionately distributed in all lots of subdivisions or not. In addition, other challenges include the inaccuracies of measurement, which were done in marking the Crown boundaries. This can be attributed to the use of old equipment and methods in the process of survey, which included the Gunter’s Chain, Theodolites, Steel band, Circumferenter, Chainages, and offsets, Log Tables, Offsets only, Ranging and Classification of surveys as E5(Oliver, 2010). These methods and tools have made it difficult to locate the marks, which were put in the Crown boundary surveys of the 19th century. It has been made even more challenging by the fact that the storage of data was not efficient. In such cases, surveyors are made to redo the entire process of surveying (Wilson, 2013). The electronic means has come to save a lot of time and efficient production and shortage of data, which can be used as a source of reference in future. The use of GPS has taken surveying process at a higher level of efficiency and reliability. The other issue that has become challenging over the years is the accretion, which is the gradual changes that take place as far as the Crown boundary lines bare concerned (Byrnes, 2001). The two types of accretion included the alluvion where "sand and earth are washed up by the sea or a river so as to make an addition to existing land" and the other "dereliction" where "land is left dry by the sea shrinking back below the usual high - water mark or by a river changing its bed" (Oliver, 2010). This calls for the application of doctrine, which has caused many conflicts in matters of excesses or reduction of land parcels. The stakeholders have been forced to come up with various land policies such as the freehold land policy among others that try to determine how such cases can be solved. The impact of the Royal Commission findings on the legislation Some of the findings of the royal commission on land including the inadequacies of the Crown land surveys. This was e especially on the matter of inaccuracies in measurements because of poor facilitation and technology. The commission also pointed out the challenges that are encountered by surveyors in the process of locating the marks in the Crown boundaries (Wilson, 2013). The fact that some marks were done using wooden materials led to the loss of the same. As a result, the findings helped in coming up with better legislations such as the Freehold Survey Policy and more so Property Law Act of 1958. References Beckett, G. W., & Colonial Institute (Gatton, Qld.). (2013). The Coghlan factor. Gatton, Qld: Colonial Press. Byrnes, G. (2001). Boundary markers: Land surveying and the colonisation of New Zealand. Wellington, N.Z: Bridget Williams Books. Oliver, J. (2010). Landscapes and social transformations on the Northwest coast: Colonial encounters in the Fraser Valley. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Prescott, J. R. V., & Triggs, G. D. (2008). International frontiers and boundaries. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Reilly, C. (2011). Surveying borders, boundaries, and contested spaces in curriculum and pedagogy. Charlotte, N.C: Information Age Pub. Victoria., Broome, R., & National Archives of Australia. (2013). Walata tyamateetj: A guide to government records about Aboriginal people in Victoria. Wilson, D. A. (2013). Easements relating to land surveying and title examination. Read More