Australasian Hydrographic Society

New Zealand Region

On 23 June 2014, the NZ Region of the Australasian Hydrographic Society celebrated World Hydrographic Day with a symposium and its annual AGM. The event was generously hosted by Trimble in its newly completed facility in Christchurch. The seminar commenced with a tour of Littleton Port and the Christchurch Earthquake areas. The day included presentations from industry practitioners, the government and the education sector. The topics covered included developments in survey capability, practical utilisation of existing and emerging technology, military survey and Rapid Environmental Assessment, the National Charting programme and more. Perhaps of greatest interest were the targeted presentations provided this year by the students representing the academic sector. Almost all of these presentations reinforced the 2014 World Hydrographic Day theme of ‘Hydrography – more than just charts’. Copies of the presentations are available on the NZR Website.
It was particularly pleasing to observe the continued growth within the academic sector in NZ of hydrographic and related course offerings, and the increased collaboration between the academic institutions. The NZR has assisted this growth through engagement and direct support to the universities. This has been evidenced most recently by the provision of sponsorship for student attendance at the NZR Seminar. The intent of this initiative was to expose the current NZ hydrographic practitioners with the future workforce and the hydrographic leaders of tomorrow. The sponsorship provided by the AHS, NZR, Trimble and DML meant that over a dozen students were able to attend.
The NZR annual seminar was both enjoyable and a professionally rewarding event. The day seminar was closed in fine fashion with the announcement of an AHS Career Achievement Award in Hydrography to Mr John Mitchell of NIWA.