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Meet Brad
Kia ora. Ko Brad toku ingoa. Hi, my name is Brad.
I'm a senior geospatial specialist – senior hydrographic surveyor – at Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand.
And, a bit about me to start with, my role.
So, basically I used to collect data on the boats. I used to go on the boats and collect the data. But now I tend to manage a lot of that data and take it and put it onto the charts you see behind me here; producing the soundings and contours that you see in lovely detail behind me.
And a bit about how I got into the role.
So, as a child I actually had quite a good sense of direction. From a young age I was often telling dad that he took the wrong turn here and there and on family trips to Christchurch with the paper map. Back in those days, I was able to navigate everyone around the place. So, I thought I'd take that skill set and when I went to university, I went to the School of Surveying and became a surveyor out of that.
What do I like most about this job?
I like the fact that you're discovering new features along the seabed. Most of the seabeds across the planet aren’t mapped, and you're often the person seeing things in that detail for the first time, which is extremely rewarding.
Meet Hayes
Hi everyone, I'm Hayes and I'm a hydrographic surveyor for DML.
My role at DML is Port Services Lead, and in that role I'm in charge of small teams conducting regular surveys at major ports throughout the North Island. We're continuously monitoring the critical depths to make sure that shipping can continue safely at all times.
When I was little, I really liked history and reading stories about explorers and shipwrecks, and I really wanted to get a career where I could start doing some of these things for myself. So, I studied a Bachelor of Surveying at the University of Otago for four years. And then I was quickly off to Perth, where I was conducting surveys in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, and all around Europe.
I really enjoy getting out and exploring and going to places that potentially haven't been charted before, and seeing the seabed in a way that no one else has.
Meet Kate
Hi, I'm Kate Downes. I'm a senior hydrographic surveyor at Discovery Marine Limited. I've worked here now for two years.
I originally got into surveying mostly based off what my interests were at high school; so I really enjoyed maths and geography. Anything relating to maps was what I enjoyed. So I took on the Bachelor of Surveying at the University of Otago, which is a four year degree that's offered there.
So after graduating, I moved over to Australia and worked there for five years, mostly in the oil and gas industry, which was on some quite large vessels. I got to explore the world. So I’ve worked in Australia, the Pacific, all over Europe. So yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed that. I suppose that was probably one of my main drivers getting into the industry to begin with; the prospect of travelling the world and exploring new places that are quite remote sometimes.
At DML, my favourite part of the job is nautical charting surveys, which is why we're here in Gisborne at the moment, updating the nautical chart for safer navigation. Since I've been at DML, I've been luckily involved in charting surveys at Banks Peninsula, near Christchurch, Bluff, Stewart Island, Napier; and yeah, now in Gisborne.
One aspect that I really enjoy about the job is looking at the awesome data that we collect and making it usable for other people, whether it be for highlighting shoal points that are dangerous to navigation for any sort of vessel, or whether it's using the data for engineering or construction projects.
I think that the work we do has a really positive impact on the world.
Meet Rian
Hi, I'm Rian Mayhead. I'm a hydrographic surveyor at Discovery Marine Limited.
I first got into the role after studying for four years at the University of Otago, down in Dunedin. Then moved up to Tauranga and began my career as a hydrographic surveyor.
What a hydrographic surveyor does is map and measure the seafloor. So we work a lot on boats and we have various types of equipment, and special software on computers that we used to do so. At the moment we're in Gisborne. So, I'll work for two weeks and then have a break, come back for another two weeks, and so on until the end of the project, which roughly goes for a month to two months.
In my spare time, I enjoy being out on the water, fishing and diving. So, it's a career which allows me to get outdoors and do some of the things that I enjoy doing in my spare time.
I also like the maths and physics side of it. So I studied physics and maths at high school and then decided to pursue a career in surveying that aligned with my interests.
Some of the things I enjoy about my role at Discovery Marine Limited is getting to travel to these amazing places and seeing parts of the seafloor that people haven't seen before. Charting in uncharted waters, finding shipwrecks and other interesting things. It's estimated that less than 20% of the seafloor has been mapped worldwide, so being able to contribute to the scientific understanding of our ocean is quite important to me.
I'm also very interested in the environment and how we can collect data that can be used by scientists and policy makers to make informed decisions.
