NSW Department of Lands Releases Local Google Earth-like Service

By Greg McNevin

November 6, 2007: Taking a leaf out of Google Earth’s book, the NSW Department of Lands has just released a new web portal enabling anyone with an internet connection to get a birds-eye view of NSW now, or historically.

With the aid of a browser plug-in, the department’s new Spacial Information Exchange website (www.six.nsw.gov.au) is able to display high-resolution, zoom-able aerial photographs of Sydney and the surrounding region much like Google’s service.

Thanks to coordination and data sharing between organisations such as the NSW Fire Brigades, the RTA, Bureau of Meteorology and the Department of Lands itself, users can pan around, zoom right in to street level and access a wealth of spatial data for the whole of NSW.

The standout difference between Google Earth and SIX, however, is the ability to compare modern day aerial photography with that taken in 1943, demonstrating how significantly Sydney and other areas have changed in the last 64 years.

Further upgrades to the service are planned for 2008, with imagery for over 250 different NSW regional centres to be added, plus other features such as a distance calculator and the ability to add notes to maps for later use.

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