GeoScience Victoria

The Geological Survey of Victoria was under this name the top geoscientific authority of the Australian state of Victoria. The merger with the Petroleum Branch of the Ministry of Mining, the Authority went on in the new state agency GeoScience Victoria. The seat was and Melbourne.

Development

The establishment of the Geological Survey of Victoria is connected with the discovery of gold in 1851. The then Governor Charles La Trobe recognized the need for prospecting of its territory under a technical point. Accordingly, he called in the colonial administration in London to a geologist. This task was entrusted Alfred Selwyn ( 1824-1902 ). The establishment of the Geological Survey of Victoria coincides with the arrival Selwyn in 1852. A 1853 dated geological map of a region between Malmsbury and Bendigo is the oldest of its kind from the state of Victoria. In the 1860s, geological mapping had acquired worldwide recognition under his leadership because of their quality.

At the end of the 19th century, the work of the Geological Survey was based on less scientific but more by mining -economic objectives. The mapping on the Walhalla Goldfield required exploration digs with tunnel driving. In the case of existing underground mining equipment is mapped with the aid of the commission of the tunnel system.

The exploration of potential coal deposits was a priority since the establishment of the Geological Survey. The exploited since the late 1850s occurrences around Cape Paterson could never meet their own needs of the colony. Further explorations in southern Gippsland did not produce the desired result. In 1909, a strike in the coal mines of New South Wales, the supply of fuel in Victoria impaired strong you the explorations resumed. In the vicinity of Wonthaggi proved successful. The reduction in this region lasted until 1968. The discovery of coal seams praised the government in 1910 with the opening of the Geological Museum at the Macarthur Street East Melbourne. Its existence was always controversial. In 1965 the building was torn down and handed the collections of geological, paleontological and technical exhibits the Museum of Victoria, where they are now kept and exhibited.

In the 1920s, it increasingly turned to the search for petroleum. The first finds through holes in the sea area of the Gippsland services utilization enabled inventories. The search has continued for several decades. In 1955 they began to move the oil exploration in the offshore area. The discovered in this way oil and gas deposits are projected inventories for funding, even into the 21st century.

Tasks

The GeoScience Victoria formed in 2004 is a division of Earth Resources Development Division ( ERDD ) Department of Primary Industries in the ( German about: Ministry of key industries).

Among the modern tasks include:

  • Exploration of new deposits of minerals and oil
  • Promotion of the State of Victoria as an investment location of the mining industry
  • Provision of own geoscientific information and securing the global information access
  • Advising the government on the scope and value of the available natural resources
Offshore construction
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