By 1879 he was a First Class surveyor in the Trigonometrical branch of the NSW Lands Department and a member of the Royal Geographical Society of New South Wales.

The survey work began at Zero Obelisk at Barringun, the division of work between the surveyors being described by Cameron in a letter to his uncle, Ewen Cameron:[1]Mr Watson is responsible for chainage while I am for the astronomical portion in finding true meridian, giving true bearing, setting off the chords, and finding latitude at every convenient site.After observations at Barringun to determine the latitude, the team began surveying the border in a westerly direction to the intersection with the border with South Australia at Longitude 141° E, known as Cameron Corner.

This section of the survey took 12 months and 15 days to complete and details of it were given in the first Annual Report of the NSW Department of Lands 1880 Appendix 1.

When the survey was complete Cameron commemorated the event by placing a wooden post weighing one ton and carved with his name on the river bank.

[1] In 1883 Cameron moved to New Guinea where he carried out important surveys under the direction of Sir William MacGregor.

[1] Cameron's 1 Ton Survey Post was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

It illustrates a remarkable feat of surveying in the nineteenth century and is a reminder of the extraordinarily difficult conditions under which many early surveyors worked.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.