Steve Jacoby, Executive Director at the Department of Natural Resources and Mines said the aerial photos and rare maps - many never seen before - chronicle incredible changes to the Cloncurry landscape.

“This C150 book featuring aerial photographs, historical typographic maps and survey plans of Cloncurry and the surrounding areas is a unique and special gift from one museum to another,” Mr Jacoby said. 

“However outside of the C150 book, everyone can access the State’s amazing collection of historical aerial photography through QImagery, a free online resource with more than 800,000 historical aerial photographs.”

Mr Jacoby said since 1949 the Queensland Government had catalogued aerial photographs in the State Aerial Photography Program.

“Through QImagery, DNRM has created digital versions of the photographs and overlayed them on an online map, making them available to anyone to search, and access, for free,” he said.

“The images shown in this special C150 book, as well as what appears on QImagery capture Cloncurry developing from a small remote mining town, in to the vibrant, economic community it is today.”

Mr Jacoby said aerial photography also provided an important reference for topographic mapping, infrastructure planning such as roads and railway.

“I encourage everyone to visit QImagery and have a look at what’s available,” he said.

QImagery is one of a number of spatial technologies such as the updated Queensland Globe, which provides public access to the latest high-quality and detailed topographic information of the State.

The book, ‘A Surveying History. Collection of Historic Maps and Photographs’ has been presented to the ‘John Flynn Place’ Cloncurry Museum.

To access QImagery, visit https://qimagery.information.qld.gov.au