Survey Datum
Robert Hoddle used Batman's Hill as the datum for the cadastral survey of the land around Melbourne from 1837. A grid of orthogonal Section lines at one mile spacing, aligned with magnetic north, divided the land into one square mile (640 acre) sections for subdivision and land sales. The section boundaries were adjusted for watercourses. The linear property boundaries, in the absence of pre-existing tracks, were natural locations for major roads. For example:
- Swan Street, Riversdale Road and Somerville Road are on the east-west section line that passes through the datum.
- Victoria Street and Barkers Road run east-west one mile to the north
- Alexandra Parade and Racecourse Road run east-west two miles to the north
- Royal Parade and Sydney Road run north-south along the section line passing through the datum.
- Hoddle Street runs north-south two miles to the east
- Springvale Road runs north-south twelve miles to the east
Read more about this topic: Batman's Hill
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