Cumberland

The Group system of the Institution of Surveyors NSW Inc was initiated nearly fifty years ago to develop professional camaraderie and facilitate communication amongst surveyors in different geographical areas.  The Cumberland Group of Surveyors was founded on 13 December 1963.  Its geographical boundaries encompass the western area of Sydney, centred on Parramatta.

The Group works efficiently and effectively to:

• provide Continuing Professional Development to its members
• promote professional ethics and standards of practice amongst surveyors
• be a lobby group for the discussion of issues in the interest of surveyors.

The Cumberland Group has its own website at www.cumberlandgroup.com.au.  This website is accessible by everyone and contains interesting and informative free downloads.

Activities are organised through a small but effective volunteer Executive Committee.  Under the current leadership of Chairman Adrian Barden, members of the committee include an undergraduate student and a Young Surveyors representative.

At least four dinner/discussion evenings are held by the group each year at the Parramatta Leagues Club and the minimum number attending each meeting is around 70.  Comprehensive reports from the Institution management Board, BOSSI, the Young Surveyors Group, the Seniors Group and the NSW Surveying & Mapping Industry Council are tabled at each meeting for the information of members.

Since 1991, the Group has held a very successful annual Development Seminar which was incorporated into the Institution's SEASSIC (South East Australian Surveying & Spatial Information Congress) for the lead up to the FIG2010 Congress held in Sydney.  In conjunction with the Seminar, it has also organised an Eminent Speakers Dinner, which attracted high profile speakers such as the NSW Deputy Premier, the Chairman of the National Trust, the NSW Government Architect, the Professor of Egyptian Archaeology at Macquarie University and the Curator of the Mitchell Library.

The annual Cumberland Group Christmas Party is a favourite event on the NSW Surveyors' calendar.  The 2010 Party was held at the fabulous Harbourview Hotel at North Sydney.

The annual NSW Excellence in Surveying & Spatial Information Awards are supported by the Cumberland Group through the award for the best University Student project.  The Cumberland Group further actively supports young surveyors through sponsorship of the School of Surveying & Spatial Information Systems at the University of New South Wales.  One of the Executive Committee members is the current Chair of the School's Advisory Board and this facilitates direct communication between the Group and the School.  Each year, the Cumberland Group provides distinctive polo shirts, designed by members of the University's Surveying Society, to undergraduate surveyors.  The Cumberland Group has also sponsored the blue shirts worn by the student volunteers at the FIG2010 Congress.

Cumberland Group members tend to be very active in their profession and a large number have been or are involved on other committees including ISNSW, ISA, PSOA, SMIC, APAS and many more.  One of the Cumberland Group Executive Committee members, Mark Gordon was on the organising Committee for the FIG2010 Congress and is current chair of SMIC NSW.

Committee

Groups