Historical Elevation Contours for New South Wales at 10m Resolution

10m Historical Contours are virtual lines joining points of equal elevation relative to the Australian Height Datum. The contours were digitized from aerial photography and ortho image traces between 2003 and 2017, with original feature reliability dates ranging from 1971 to 2008. This dataset is part of the NSW Elevation and Depth Theme, managed by Spatial Services, a business unit of the Department of Customer Service NSW.

Use Cases

• Modeling terrain changes over time based on historical contour lines.
• Assessing natural hazard risks using elevation data from 1971 to 2008.
• Supporting hydrographic and road navigation safety planning with authoritative elevation information.
• Defining maritime and administrative boundaries using consistent height datum.
• Enabling climate science and adaptation studies with long-term topographic reference data.

Strengths

• Contours were digitized from multiple authoritative sources, including stereoscopic aerial photography.
• Feature reliability dates span a long period from 1971 to 2008.
• The dataset is aligned to the Australian Height Datum (AHD), providing a standardized reference.

Limitations

• The dataset uses a WGS 84 ≈ GDA94 spatial reference, which may cause misalignments in GDA2020 environments.
• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• The data update frequency is listed as 'Other', and the data currency date is set to 01/01/3000, indicating static historical data.

Provenance

Source

Spatial Services, a business unit of the Department of Customer Service NSW.

Collection Method

Digitized from stereoscopic aerial photography and ortho image trace methods at scales of 1:25,000, 1:50,000, and 1:100,000.

Time Range

Original feature reliability dates range from 1971 to 2008; digitization processing completed 2003 to 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-18 03:34:26.766239; freshness should be verified.

Geography

New South Wales, Australia.