Why I edit the map
By Andrew Parker, Leader, U3A Ballarat Hiking Group
‘OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. The geodata underlying the map is considered the primary output of the project. The creation and growth of OSM has been motivated by restrictions on use or availability of map data across much of the world, and the advent of inexpensive portable satellite navigation devices.’
Think of it as the Wikipedia of the mapping world, only far more accurate!
After every hike I edit the OpenStreetMap data with any inaccuracies or add places of interest I find along the way.
And after editing:
Gordon also had a future hike planned north of Linton in the Linton Nawnight Wid Wid State Forest. When I went to prepare a route file for the Garmin I found the entire state forest was not on the map, so over the period of a couple of afternoons I added the missing forest as seen here:
This was the most adventurous edit I had tackled to date. It involved plotting approximately 200 coordinates from the Victorian Government site MapshareVic and transferring them to the OpenStreetMap editor page.
In 2008, tools were developed to make it simple to export OpenStreetMap data to power portable GPS units, replacing their existing proprietary and out-of-date maps. Many of you reading this will be users of the popular app 'Strava' which is just one of thousands of apps that use OpenStreetMap for their mapping. So, whenever I edit the map, I make it a little bit better for all the other people out there that use those maps for gps navigation!
Summing up, maps and more recently, mapping have been an important and enjoyable part of my life. I hope to continue to gain a lot of satisfaction from my hobby for many years to come!
My interest in maps goes way back
As a young teenager I used to deliver newspapers to earn pocket money. One of the things I spent my money on was Ampol Road Maps. I had one of every Australian state and territory! I could spend many happy hours imagining what those places looked like and what it would be like to go there one day. (looking back, they were very basic maps)
My map obsession is inherently linked to my passion for travel. Before I arrive in a new city, I study a map of it long enough to pass a beginner’s geography quiz.
About ten or more years ago, my maps started to become more and more the online digital versions.
About that time, I first hiked the Goldfields Track between Mt Buninyong and Daylesford and there was nothing in the digital realm back then to indicate the route for my newly acquired Garmin.
It was then that I became a mapmaker......Well a map editor to be more precise. I would find my way along the Goldfields Track using their (GDTA) vague paper map and the unreliable signage and record the route on my Garmin. I would then go onto OpenStreetMap, the open source digital mapping software and add the route
INTERACTIVE MAP OF SURFACE HILL AREA
Andrew Parker 2020.
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