Queensland Northern Territory border
In 1883 South Australian surveyor, Lawrence Wells returned to rechain the line west of Carlowattie Hill and to correct the original mile post at the corner (Poeppel Corner). This was done before the survey north along the Queensland Northern Territory border was undertaken. On reaching Poeppel's original corner, Wells found that it had to be repositioned 15 chains 75 links to the east.
The work of running the line true north along the 138th meridian from the intersection of the 26th parallel (Poeppel Corner) to the Gulf of Carpentaria, was carried out in early 1884 by Poeppel. He was again assisted by Lawrence Wells, along with six assistants and two cameleers.
Poeppel's 80 mile post, 80 miles west of Haddon Corner
At the 154 mile post, Poeppel was troubled with eye problems (sandy blight), so bad that he was unable to carry out his star observations:
My eyes were very bad during the whole of the time from station 142 miles 32 chains 75 links and I could not conduct the observations.Poeppel A 1884-5
Poeppel encountered problems with his theodolite, which eventually proved to be faulty. It was discovered that he was running a line at about 359°58'30" instead of true north 360°. This resulted in a discrepancy of about 600 metres into the Northern Territory at the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
At the 250 mile post, the survey ceased for the 1884 Christmas break. This allowed the survey party to have a well earned rest. Up until this time, drought conditions had prevailed. However, in January 1885 the rains came and local stations recorded as much as 17 inches in a few days. Poeppel, who had been returning from Sandringham Station, was caught in the floods and lost many of his camels and equipment.
After the rains, conditions had improved and the survey recommenced with rapid progress until they reached the ranges north of the Nicholson River. Due to the rocky nature of this area, horses were used on the line, while the remaining camels brought up supplies to the camps. The team experienced all sorts of difficulties. These included a fire that destroyed their camp and their camps were raided by Aboriginals.
At the 324 mile post, Poeppel had to return to Adelaide due to severe eye problems. This later worsened and caused him to go blind in one eye. Augustus Poeppel died in Melbourne on 4 July 1891, aged 52.
John Carruthers took his place as leader of the survey and Lawrence Wells continued as second in command. The country improved as the survey continued northwards and the pastoral stations became more frequent and closer to the boundary. Once they had reached the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria in September 1886, they erected a large terminal survey post, 50 links above high water mark. On the post was carved:
| south side | "from Lat 26° 651m 57C" |
| west side | "Northern Territory" |
| east side | "Queensland Lat 16° 32'26", and the variation of the needle" |
| north side | "Carruthers and Wells-Date 29 September 1886" |
Thus marked the end of a most difficult survey. The total cost of the survey of longitude 138° was £9 300.00, half of which was borne by the Queensland Government.
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Checking longitude 138 degrees
While Queensland did not provide a team for the survey, they did check the position of the mile post 
on the border line west of Boulia. Staff surveyor Cecil Twisden Bedford courtesy of Mr D Fraser(pictured left) was chosen by the Queensland Surveyor General, William Alcock Tully to carry out this check survey.
Arriving in Boulia in August 1885, Bedford established his starting point in the post and telegraph reserve. This was the location where the longitude reading determined by electric telegraph was recorded.
Bedford then traversed westward to the border, connecting on to the border between the 255 mile and 255 mile 77 chain posts in February 1886.
Bedford's traverse was marked with wooden mile posts for the 147 miles to the border. A bottle containing concrete and an empty brass cartridge case was sunk 2½ feet below every fifth wooden post. The image pictured right, depicts the remains of one such bottle recovered from the traverse.
Bedford's second in command, William Davidson, in later years wrote:
As white ants were very bad out there, it is quite possible that very few traces remain of our work above ground, but perhaps the bottles of cement we placed at every five miles along our line may prove interesting to scientists of some future generation, should they ever be unearthed.Davidson WH 1885-6
Bedford's theodolite
In 1988 as a special project for the Bicentennial year, the Queensland Division of the Institute of Engineering and Mining Surveyors of Australia retraced Bedford's survey and found his bottles.
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Fixing the longitude
In 1887, Queensland staff surveyors Robert Hoggan and Robert Grant McDowall carried out observations at the post and telegraph station in Boulia. This fixed the longitude of Bedford's initial starting point.
The method used was the exchange of time signals via the electric telegraph. This was between the Brisbane Observatory of known longitude, and Bedford's starting point beside the telegraph office in Boulia. By using a traverse they were able to obtain a longitude value for the mile post out on the border west of Boulia. Bedford's observation revealed that the mile posts placed on the border by the South Australian surveyors were accurate. This convinced the Queensland Government to agree to pay half the cost of the survey.
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Last updated: 22 June 2009