TOM LANGFORD TURNER - SURVEYOR 1883-1948

THE LIFE AND TIMES

A brief outline of the life and times on Tom Langford Turner, licensed surveyor in the States of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

Born in Nhill, Victoria 1883, and lived in Horsham in his early years. He lost his right arm in a shooting accident as a lad, but this did not deter him from his ambition to become a surveyor, as was his father - Tom Heppingstone Turner, who was also a surveyor in Nhill, where several streets are named after his sons and nephews.

Tom Langford Turner came from a long line of surveyors. His great grandfather, James Woodward Turner came from England in 1830 and was granted land in Augusta, south of Perth, by Governor Stirling. He was also a surveyor and builder. His son Thomas Turner was also a surveyor and there are signs and monuments still there (in Augusta) where they settled, but that's another story.

When Tom Langford Turner qualified as a surveyor and draftsman as a young man in 1906, he married a South Yarra girl, Mary Spain, grand-daughter of Stephen Spain - a Captain in the (British) Royal Navy, and was offered work in Queensland, where they lived in Rockhampton and Brisbane.

He surveyed millions of acres of land in the Darling Downs area where he had a large survey team and did very well. This was in the early 1900's. They left Queensland in about 1912, as I was born in Mosman, Sydney in October 1913. My father and mother also had another son, Irving and a daughter, Shirley.

After doing so well in Queensland, he left there for Sydney, where he had an office in Elizabeth Street, and did quite well for a time, with a branch office in Lithgow doing a lot of work for Hoskins Coal Mining Company.

By about 1930 work was getting scarce because of the depression, and things were getting bad. In 1931 his brother, Rockley asked him to work with him in south Gippsland. (Incidentally, uncle "Rock" also was a surveyor in Melbourne, but was of ill health and asked Dad to take over his survey team.)

They were opening virgin country between Ryton and Welshpool, most beautiful country but very hilly, and only suitable for dairy farms. I spent 6 months helping him as a "chainman" - I was 18 at the time.

After Gippsland, my father went back to Horsham, where he grew up, and in 1935,

I joined him again. He set up an office there and was doing very well, as he was the only surveyor in the district.

He did a lot of work for the Country Roads Board, especially straightening out all the bad curves and bends in the roads. At the beginning of World War 2, he surveyed several areas for landing grounds; Nhill being the main one, which became a large Air Force base during the War, and being situated half-way between Melbourne and Adelaide.

In 1948, at the age of 65, although he was still very active, be developed cancer in the throat and died. Although he had only one arm, it did not stop him doing everything: swimming, driving a car, playing cricket, being a very good draftsman, etc.

Although he came from a long line of surveyors, his sons, Irving and myself, did not follow suit. Also my son (Tim) has not done so either.