A PROJECT which commemorates William the Conqueror’s 1086 Domesday Book has spawned an international mapping mission.
The Domesday Book was effectively Britain’s first comprehensive national census.
As a postscript to the historic document, British aerial photography company Getmapping.com produced the first aerial photographic map of England last year and posted it on the Internet as The Millennium Map.
The project certainly interested the Queen, who invested £100,000 in the company which is now raising funds to establish a presence in Australia.
Getmapping.com managing director Tristram Cary was recently in Perth to discuss the development of a centenary map for Australia with National Geographic Information Systems managing director Paul Harris, managing director of Getmapping Australia.
The centenary map will form the first completed record of Australia with high-resolution imagery covering all major centres.
Expected turnover for the centenary map is more than $10 million in the second year of operations.
Getmapping Australia is looking to raise $15 million through a public float in early 2001. The map should be completed by the end of 2001.
