The Story of Aerial Mapping Ltd. In Dust Jacket, First Edition 1986, Colour and Black and White Photographs, illustrations, maps, frontispiece, 188 Pages, Published by Grantham House Publishing for NZ Aerial Mapping Ltd Hastings.
A Fine Copy.
'Piet van Asch was ahead of his time when in 1936 he established NZ Aerial Mapping Limited as the first private enterprise 'eye in the sky' to map New Zealand from the air. Some tentative aerial survey had been undertaken by the Air Force but, when war intervened in 1939, it was left to NZAM to fly the vital fortress areas for the Armed Forces and from there to go on to city, rural, river, mountain and coastal vertical photography to meet the needs of farmers, developers, prospectors, irrigators and foresters. The white city footpath symbol which identifies some underground service is a reminder of the relationship between ground engineer and the aerial surveyor, photographing with near magic cameras from 15,000, 20,000 or even 30,000 feet above the earth's surface. NZAM is the oldest aviation company in NZ to boast a record of continuous operation under its own name. Tight flying and engineering discipline have ensured an accident-free record, competition has been met headon (but never suppressed, in a live and let live policy), so that for half a century NZAM has dominated the aerial mapping business in NZ, flying higher and farther in this pursuit than anyone else. As well, the company has 'chased the weather' to help south-west Pacific neighbours chart their boundaries'
Fascinating look at early NZ aviation and the mapping of New Zealand.