The Australasian Hydrographic Society ( AHS ) is a professional hydrographic organisation covering Australasia, the South West Pacific and South East Asia. It brings together practitioners and representatives of industry in the region, particularly those involved in maritime and port services, undersea exploration, offshore oil and gas projects and associated infrastructure. Because these sectors are closely linked to rapid growth in economic development and trade in the region, it is expected hydrography will have an increasingly important role in the future development of the economy.
16-538: The Australasian Hydrographic Society was originally part of The Hydrographic Society (THS), founded in 1972. It was one of five autonomous national branches, Australasia , the Benelux countries, Denmark, the UK and the USA. By 2000 it apparent that this structure was no longer workable and a decision was made to form national bodies, which would constitute a new international organisation,
32-777: A counterweight to the former German South Sea Edge (Südseerand), both of which form the "Indo-Pacific" region. The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary gives two meanings of "Australasia". One, especially in Australian use, is "Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea , and the neighbouring islands of the Pacific". The other, especially in New Zealand use, is just Australia and New Zealand. Two Merriam-Webster dictionaries online ( Collegiate and Unabridged ) define Australasia as "Australia, New Zealand, and Melanesia ". The American Heritage Dictionary online recognizes two senses in use: one more precise and
48-504: A transnational focus on hydrographic history and heritage. The Australasian Hydrographic Society has a Council made up of elected officer-bearers (President, Secretary, Treasurer) and representatives from each of the regions. The Council is responsible for the governance of the organisation. The Patron of the Australasian Hydrographic Society is Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie AO RANR. The Australasian Hydrographic Society
64-658: Is a member of the International Federation of Hydrographic Societies. The Australasian Hydrographic Society regions engage in a wide range of activities. These include technical meetings, seminars, symposia, preparation of reports, social gatherings, educational initiatives and awareness-raising. The Society is also actively engaged in the development of international standards and protocols in hydrography, hydrographic surveying and technical specifications. The Australasian Hydrographic Society has an online presence through its website. The New Zealand Region and Australia on
80-742: Is focusing on the United Nations geoscheme , which is a changing, constantly updated, UN tool based on specific political geography and demography considerations relevant in UN statistics. The Statistics Division of the United Nations (UN) is in charge of the collection, processing, and dissemination of statistical information for the UN. In 1999, it developed a system of macro-geographical (continental) regions, subregions, and other selected economic groups to report advances towards achieving numerous millennial development goals worldwide. These statistical divisions were devised for statistical purposes and
96-479: Is used for carrying out statistical analysis. The division's first publication was the book World's Women 2000: Trends and Statistics in 2000. According to the UN, the assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories. The following is a non-exhaustive list of subregions, arranged alphabetically by region (i.e., by continent); in
112-532: The International Federation of Hydrographic Societies (IFHS). Subsequently the Australasian Hydrographic Society was incorporated on 5 August 2002 and is now a registered a not-for-profit Public Company with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission . Hydrography is essential for many economic, recreational and tourism activities. In particular the development of offshore projects in
128-497: The "Australasian colonies". In this sense it related specifically to the British colonies south of Asia: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, Victoria (i.e., the Australian colonies) and New Zealand. Australasia found continued geopolitical attention in the early 20th century. Historian Hansong Li finds that against the backdrop of British colonialism, German geopoliticians considered "Australasia" as
144-495: The International Federation of Hydrographic Societies and has hosted that organisation's annual international conference on three occasions, Hydro 2003 ( Christchurch , New Zealand), Hydro 2007 ( Cairns , Australia) and Hydro 2011 ( Fremantle , Australia). The Australasian Hydrographic Society provides an annual Education Award for students studying in a range of hydrographic and hydrography related disciplines. The Australasian Hydrographic Society Awards, awarded annually, recognises
160-596: The Map Division also maintain separate websites. The New Zealand Region previously issued a newsletter, The Boustrophedon , and the Australia on the Map Division currently produces an electronic newsletter, Map Matters . Divisions may from time to time produce specialist publications. The Australia on the Map Division, for example, recently published the proceedings of a symposium, The Freycinet Map of 1811 . The Australasian Hydrographic Society actively participates in
176-415: The UN geoscheme, higher-level, macro-geographical regions are arranged to the extent possible according to continents. Sequence used in the list (not all criteria are applied to each continent): Afro-Eurasia is a continental landmass comprising the continents of Africa , Asia , and Europe . Eurasia is a continental mainland comprising the continents of Asia and Europe . The Americas
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#1732852595077192-494: The merit, contribution and achievement made by individuals, groups and corporate bodies in a range of categories. Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania , comprising Australia , New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia ), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia ). The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically , physiogeographically , philologically , and ecologically , where
208-790: The oil and gas industries, particularly off the north west coast of Western Australia and coal export facilities in Queensland have required a considerable increase in the provision of accurate and up to date hydrographic information. The attendant increase in trade, for example, has made improved navigation through sensitive area, such as the Great Barrier Reef critical. Hydrography also plays an important role in national security, border protection and humanitarian support. The Australasian Hydrographic Society endeavours to represent all interests in these domains. The Australasian Hydrographic Society consequently "aims to serve anyone with an interest in
224-400: The other broader, loosely covering all of Oceania . 28°06′32″S 146°18′00″E / 28.10889°S 146.30000°E / -28.10889; 146.30000 Subregion A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent . Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article
240-613: The science (and art)" of hydrography, "the influence of which makes it the great common denominator for maritime nations". The Australasian Hydrographic Society has four regions, the East Australia Region, the West Australia Region, the New Zealand Region, AOTM Australia on the Map Division and a South West Pacific Region. Each region is geographically based, except for the Australia on the Map Division which has
256-515: The term covers several slightly different but related regions. Charles de Brosses coined the term (as French Australasie ) in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes (1756). He derived it from the Latin for "south of Asia " and differentiated the area from Polynesia (to the east) and the southeast Pacific ( Magellanica ). In the late 19th century, the term Australasia was used in reference to
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