Australian Hydrographic Service

The Admiralty carried out surveys and published charts of the Australian coast throughout the 19th century in support of the defence and commercial development of the colonies.

In 1946 the Federal Cabinet made the Commonwealth Naval Board responsible for the surveying and charting of Australian waters.

Hydrographic services provided by the AHS include the mapping and surveying of undersea terrain and irregularities on and under the water's surface (known collectively as hydrography), the provision of nautical charts and other publications, such as tide tables and Notices to Mariners.

[5] Surveying operations did not resume in the region until World War II, when it became evident that Age of Sail-era charts of the South West Pacific desperately needed updating.

[5] Requisitioned auxiliary ships, later supplemented by several Bathurst-class corvettes modified into survey vessels, were used to chart the waters around the East Indies and New Guinea, with the RAN designated as the charting authority responsible for supporting Allied operations in the South West Pacific Area.

[6][7] As well as updating navigational charts, RAN survey ships were also used to inspect and clear sites for amphibious landings.

[8] By the end of the war, sixteen vessels were attached to the Hydrographic Service, including the frigate HMAS Lachlan and five Bathurst-class corvettes.