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FIG REPORT FIG PUBLICATION NO 75 “FIG and Me” Earl James AM Honorary President INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION SURVEYING & SPATIAL OF SURVEYORS (FIG) SCIENCES INSTITUTE (SSSI) “FIG and Me” My Twenty Five Years in the International Surveying Arena Earl James AM Honorary President INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF SURVEYORS (FIG) NOTE The unpublished manuscript contained herein Is the property of the author who holds the copyright. This copy of the manuscript is provided for assessment only. No addi- tional copies of this manuscript, whether digital or printed, may be made without the consent of the author. Copyright © 2017 Earl James, and The International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), May 2020. All rights reserved. International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Kalvebod Brygge 31–33 DK-1780 Copenhagen V DENMARK Tel. + 45 38 86 10 81 E-mail: FIG@FIG.net www.fig.net Published in English ISSN 1018-6530 (printed) ISSN 2311-8423 (pdf) ISBN 978-87-92853-94-3 (printed) ISBN 978-87-92853-95-0 (pdf) Published by International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) The three front cover photos are provided by Earl James and show him in various work situations. Layout: Lagarto CONTENTS FOREWORD ..............................................................................................................................................5 PREFACE .....................................................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................7 BOOK 1: 1972 TO 1992 ............................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1: 1972 to 1985 – Latent Interest in International Affairs ...............................10 Chapter 2: 1986 to 1987 – The Interest Blossoms ...............................................................14 Chapter 3: 1988 – Interest Becomes Activity .......................................................................22 Chapter 4: 1989 – A Year With Europeans .............................................................................28 Chapter 5: 1990 – Finland and International Conferences ..............................................34 Chapter 6: 1991 – Disappointments and Successes ..........................................................40 Chapter 7: 1992 (Part 1) – Australia Takes Over ...................................................................46 Chapter 8: The Definition of a Surveyor .................................................................................52 Chapter 9: The Relationship between FIG and Member Associations ........................58 BOOK 2: 1992 TO 1995 ............................................................................................. 63 Chapter 11: 1993 (Part 1) – Cologne Brings More Responsibilities ..............................80 Chapter 12: 1993 (Part 2) – Bureau Funding and Effective Administration ..............90 Chapter 13: 1994 (Part 1) – The Highlight of Our Purpose ..............................................97 Chapter 14: 1994 (Part 2) – No Time for Rest .....................................................................105 Chapter 15: 1995 (Part 1) – The Beginning of the End ...................................................116 Chapter 16: 1995 (Part 2) – The Finale with FIG ................................................................124 Chapter 17: A Review of the Australian Administration of FIG ...................................134 BOOK 3: EPILOGUE – 1996 TO 2010...................................................................... 139 1996 ................................................................................................................................................140 1997 ................................................................................................................................................143 1998 ................................................................................................................................................145 1999 ................................................................................................................................................146 2000 to 2010 .................................................................................................................................146 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ....................................................................................................................148 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................................150 FOREWORD As the President of FIG, I am privileged to announce the release of the publication “FIG and Me – My Twenty Five Years in the International Surveying Arena” written by Earl James, FIG Honorary President. This book provides an insight into Earl’s international surveying accomplishments, and a unique perspective of the FIG workings, achieve- ments, and challenges experienced by our establishment, during the period 1988 – 1996. Back then FIG Council and Office was known as the “Bureau”, and from 1988 Earl served as a Vice President with the Finnish Bureau for four years, and then as FIG Presi- dent of the Australian Bureau, who hosted the XX International Survey Congress held in Melbourne in 1994. For those who do not know, Earl is an Australian icon of surveying, and is recognised and respected as a survey pioneer of the Northern Territory of Australia. For 44 years Earl worked as a professional surveyor, starting as an “outback” cadet surveyor with the Lands and Survey Department, progressing to a Senior Licensed Surveyor in govern- ment, and then establishing a reputable and successful private business in the North- ern Territory. Earl in the course of his professional career surveyed numerous property land boundaries in pastoral, rural, and urban environs, he mentored many surveyors or land related professionals, and contributed to the growth of the Northern Territory through his expertise as a Planner and the Chairing of numerous land development Boards. Both the surveying and planning profession have honoured Earl with the ac- colade of “Honorary Fellowship”, and the Australian Government have recognised his service to industry by appointing Earl as a Member of the Order of Australia. Many of those who know Earl, always recount his eloquent speeches, his strategic thinking, and plans for FIG, which when combined help shape the foundations of the organisation that we know today. It is therefore a great pleasure and honour for me to write this foreword and for FIG to be part of this publication. I sincerely hope that FIG members enjoy reading this personal record from a Northern Territory of Australia out- back surveyor who visited over 50 countries whilst leading the way. In the name of the International Federation of Surveyors I thank Earl for his outstand- ing engagement for our profession, for his activities in the name of FIG, and also for his wonderful memories. Rudolf Staiger President (2019–2022) 5 PREFACE Surveying is a pastime enjoyed (or endured) by many, many people who carry out a host of different occupations; occupations that could range from the simple task of polling people with a question of political significance to the complicated and highly skilled task of measuring the shape and size of the earth. In some countries the term ‘surveyor’ is used to refer to those who carry out surveys such as those required to define property boundaries or the surveys needed to control the construction of bridges, roads, multi-storied buildings and other structures but in other countries the term is also used to cover those who simply collect information and use it to come to a specific conclusion such as the determination of the value of a property, or how best to design a new suburb, or the production of a particular map. Surveyors have been around for a long time. Evidence of this can be seen in such an- cient works as the three thousand year old map recently found stencilled into the rocks of Italy’s mountains. Ancient art depicts surveyors using crude tapes and other measur- ing implements while the rectilinear layout of most excavated lost cities is enough to convince even the casual observer that surveying is a very ancient art. Indeed, survey- ing is often referred to as the world’s first, or oldest profession though this is hotly con- tested by the military. Even so, military ranks always have contained surveyors though they were referred to as engineers. Roman military surveyors two thousand years ago were famous for their long straight roads and the symmetry of their military encamp- ments. The International Federation of Surveyors defines a surveyor as, among other things, ‘a professional person with the academic qualifications and technical expertise to prac- tise the science of measurement’. I am a surveyor. I have worked both as a government employed surveyor and as a private practicing surveyor for the best part of forty six years in the Northern Territory of Australia. During that time I took a great interest in the politics of the profession to the extent that over the years I progressed from being an associate member of the Institution of Surveyors Australia (ISA), to national President of that Institution thence to Vice President of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), then to President of that federation and finally