Geoscience Australia’s Historical Aerial Photography Program currently involves scanning and georeferencing old flight diagrams to enable the digitising and positioning of historical aerial photographs for easy discovery and download. Accurate digital mapping of GA’s aerial photography collection will make catalogue searches easier and the collection more accessible to the public. This story map presents an interactive history of aerial photography, a background of aerial photography in Australia, historical aerial photography use cases and scenarios, and a background on Geoscience Australia's program to digitise flight diagrams and create a catalogue of aerial photographs.

This Hub contains information, resources and discovery of Commonwealth Historical Aerial Photography across Australia. Geoscience Australia has developed the Historical Aerial Photography (HAP) collection in an online data delivery system. Using the application, uses can search and download the commonwealth photography collection for free. The hub demonstrates the breadth of the collection and showcases the efforts in collecting and curating an extensive physical collection of film and documents. Geoscience Australia has the most extensive historical aerial photography collection in terms of land coverage and time (from 1928-1996). This online catalogue provides means of easy search of the collection records. The mapping system allows users to understand what information is available and, if digitised, to preview and download the image data. The application contains a map which users can search areas, current location or an area of interest, as well as customize the search criteria (date range, film number etc). The search results list the available aerial photography or flight line diagram, and if is available for direct download for free.

Prior to the advent of satellite imagery in the 1970s, extensive use was made of aerial photography to systematically image and capture land information. As part of national mapping and survey campaigns run by its predecessors, Geoscience Australia (GA) is custodian of some 1.2 million aerial photos dating back to 1928. Through these campaigns every part of Australia and its external territories was imaged at some point and often repeatedly over the last 90 years, forming a unique and invaluable historical collection. Most importantly, they enable us to extend the record of surface land changes back an additional 50 years or more. GA is progressively moving this collection from analogue to a modern digital data management framework. Discoverability and access to data are essential to realising the full potential of the collection, and associated flight line diagrams are critical in connecting physical and digitised material in the collection to an accurate location consistent with modern datums. The focus of digitisation has been on scanning film and storing individual frames as photo images. Both flight line diagrams are also being digitised and georeferenced, and information on the film is transcribed into a structured database, which will drive a future catalogue for open online access. Only a subset of the aerial photos have been digitised, based on preservation concerns and specific use-cases. GA also is prototyping a new processing workflow to value-add to the digitised collection by creating products that are readily consumable into geographic information systems and as web services. This work may lead to further investment in digitisation by demonstrating broader utility and continuing collaboration with other stakeholders such as the National Archives of Australia. This will be needed to complete the modernisation vision, As with other historic data remediation, surprising finds have been unearthed, gaps in supporting information identified, and an untapped but largely recognised desire for the data. GA is investigating possible applications of citizen science to aid in the modernisation of this collection. This presentation will look at the process undertaken, the type of data available, and will outline some examples of the data, and future use. <b>ePoster is no longer available for access</b>

Geoscience Australia has the most extensive historical aerial photography collection in terms of land coverage and time (from 1928-1996). This online catalogue provides means of easy search of the collection records. The mapping system allows users to understand what information is available and, if digitised, to preview and download the image data. The application contains a map which users can search areas, current location or an area of interest, as well as customize the search criteria (date range, film number etc). The search results list the available aerial photography or flight line diagram, and if is available for direct download for free.

Geoscience Australia is responsible for the records and custody of Commonwealth aerial photography, acquired since 1928 up to the most recent analogue film capture in mid-1990s. Subsequent comparable information is available in the form of satellite imagery or direct digital aerial image capture. The majority of the landmass of Australia is covered by black and white photography at 1:80,000 scale. The near complete coverage was undertaken three times, in 1950s, 1960s and 1980s. Metadata about aerial photo surveys is recorded as flight diagrams on 1:250,000, 1:100,000 & 1:50,000 maps showing the approximate aircraft flight paths, selective depiction of photo centres, and other survey parameters. <b>Value:</b> Aerial imagery can be used to study change over time for land use, vegetation, environmental quality, etc. <b>Scope: </b>Images in the collection have been acquired since 1928 up to the most recent analogue film capture in mid-1990s. Subsequent comparable information is available in the form of satellite imagery or direct digital aerial image capture. The majority of the landmass of Australia is covered by black and white photography at 1:80,000 scale. The near complete coverage was undertaken three times, in 1950s, 1960s and 1980s.