Australia is full of wide open spaces, and my Dad experienced his fair share of them while working as a geodetic surveyor with the Division of National Mapping. From 1970 to 1977, the early years of his career, he spent months at a time in the outback.

Travelling by truck or small plane, working in the sun, or sometimes rain, and sleeping under the stars was a unique experience. There were also wildlife encounters including dogs, the occasional fast moving emu, and a goanna at least a metre long.

Photographs from those trips show parts of Australia seen by very few people. You can see some of them below (click on the photos to enlarge and scroll through).

Select references

Fieldwork photographs, 1970-1972, Western Australia and Queensland, held in private collection.

• Photograph of wide open spaces, Western Australia, 1972.
• Photograph of surveying in the outback, Queensland, 1970.
• Photograph of surveying on an outback airstrip, Queensland, 1970.
• Photograph of abandoned house ruins, Western Australia 1972
• Photograph of underground accommodation found, Western Australia, 1972.
• Photograph of trucks travelling on an “outback highway”, Western Australia, 1972.
• Photograph of truck carrying a motorcycle, Western Australia, 1972.
• Photograph of an emu running down a track, Western Australia, 1972.
• Photograph of campsite with tents for equipment not people, Queensland, 1970.
• Photograph of an outback pub, Queensland, 1970.
• Photograph of a goanna in the shower block on Barrow Island, Western Australia, 1972.
• Photograph of the moving stars, Western Australia, 1972.