1924 Tourist Map of New South Wales, Australia

This is a rare 1924 tourist map of New South Wales made by the state's Department of Lands. It focuses on road and rail routes between cities and to popular tourist destinations listed in the title: 'Burrinjuck, Federal Territory, Jenolan, Yarrangobilly and Wombeyan Caves, Mt. Kosciusko and principal fishing streams.'

A Closer Look

The map contains detailed information on the type and state of motor roads and the distances between major destinations, as well as similar information for railways. It provides comprehensive reconnaissance for the traveler, including the location of hotels and guest houses, petrol stations, and telephones, reflecting both the increasing use of automobiles and leisure travel by those who could afford it.

Historical Context

This map was made during a period of transition in New South Wales, soon after the colonies had federated in 1901 and become states. While New South Wales was chosen as the site of a new national capital (after much debate, described below), it maintained a strong regional identity and policies that were jealously guarded against other states, particularly Victoria, an ancillary to the long-running rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne.

Sydney and other cities in the colony/state had grown considerably in the late 19th century, spurred on by immigration and the development of new industries, including a gold rush in the 1850s - 1870s. The New South Wales Department of Lands played a critical role in settling the rapid influx of migrants and was the most important section of the nascent bureaucracy at that time. True to its importance, the Department occupied a grandiose Victorian Renaissance Revival building in Sydney that still stands.

Building a National Capital

One of the main issues to resolve in the course of federation was the location of a national capital, which took nearly a decade to negotiate and even longer to build. New South Wales was hesitant about joining the proposed federation for several reasons, but a federation without the state included would hardly be complete. As Sydney and Melbourne were the logical choices for a capital but also rivalrous with each other, a compromise was reached to have New South Wales join the federation and be the home of the capital, so long as the capital was not Sydney.

The next task was to settle on a suitable choice in the countryside of New South Wales. Initially, in 1904, Dalgety (at bottom-center) had been chosen as the site, but this was opposed in New South Wales as Dalgety was nearly as close to Melbourne as it was to Sydney, and by 1908 the area later called Canberra had edged out Dalgety and became the choice as national capital.

In the end, the process of selecting, surveying, and planning for the building of a new city took years, and the Parliament House was not completed until 1927. Even afterwards, the city remained small and underdeveloped until after World War II. The relative isolation of the capital can be seen here, as most roads and railways shot right past it, save for the lines meeting at Queanbeyan on the border of the federal territory (the existence of this rail junction was also an important factor in choosing Canberra over Dalgety).

Publication History and Census

This map was compiled, drawn, and printed by the New South Wales Department of Lands in 1924, and sold by the NSW Bookstall Co. Ltd. (specifically, the Sydney Depot for Motorists' Maps, Tourist Guides'). This edition is only known to be held by the State Library of Victoria and has no known history on the market. There are at least nine editions of this map, as well as accompanying maps published in multiple editions by the Department of Lands: 'Map of the North Eastern Tourist District,' 'Map of the Central Northern Tourist District,' and 'Map of the Central Southern Tourist District.' All of these are quite scarce, but some are held by the National Library of Australia and the University of Melbourne.