About alternate survey numbers
There are 3 main categories of plans held in Landonline:
- Deposited Plans (DP)
- Survey Office Plans (SO)
- Maori Land Plans (ML).
Before these national plan categories were introduced, each Land District used its own survey numbering system. When the national standardisation system was adopted, existing plans were assigned new survey numbers and the previous numbers were recorded in conversion books.
These previous numbers are known as ‘alternate survey numbers’. Many physical plans were subsequently updated with the new survey number and the alternate survey number struck through.
Figure 1. SO 2676 Canterbury Land District showing the alternate survey number LP 514 struck through.
Surveyors often need to access alternate survey numbers because they are referenced in legal documents, Gazette notices and older survey plans.
Figure 2. DP 7998 Canterbury Land District referencing alternate survey number LP 514.
To make these records easier to locate, Landonline now supports searching by alternate survey number, with a number of historic records from conversion books captured and made searchable.
Alternate survey numbers can be searched in Web Search using Search survey by survey number, for Wellington, Taranaki, and Gisborne Land districts. Limited alternate survey numbers for Canterbury and Otago Land Districts can be searched, with not all conversion books captured into Landonline.
See: Search Survey
Alternate survey numbers use a similar format to current CSD numbers and may include:
- CSD type
- Identifier
- Suffix.
For example, Drawer 87/12W
If you can't locate a new survey number using an alternate survey number, use the Request Copy form located in Web Search.
See: Request copy
Examples of alternate survey numbers available to search in Landonline
Because each Land District historically used its own numbering system, a wide range of record types exist.
The tables below provide examples of alternate survey numbers that can be searched in Landonline.
Wellington
| Record type | CSD type | Example alternate survey number |
|---|---|---|
| Drawer Plan | Drawer | Drawer 1/1 |
| Provisional plan | Provisional | Provisional 1005 |
| Public Works Department plan | PWD | PWD 219 |
| Roll Plan | Roll | Roll 1 |
| Standard Plan | Standard | Standard B3 |
Taranaki
| Record type | CSD type | Example alternate survey number |
|---|---|---|
| Drawer Plan | Drawer | Drawer 2/1 |
| Road Plan | Road | Road 11A |
| Roll Plan | Roll | Roll 13A |
| Survey Office | SO | SO 3090 |
Gisborne
| Record type | CSD type | Example alternate survey number |
|---|---|---|
| Crown Plan | CP | CP 3163 |
| LT Application Plan | LT | LT 703A |
| LT Plan | LT | LT 1 |
| ML Plan | ML | ML 26 |
| Native Reserve | NR | NR 2 |
| Public Works plan | PWD | PWD 14964 |
| Road Plan | Road | Road 1 |
| Roll Plan | Roll | Roll 120 |
| SO Plan | SO | SO 1 |
| Trig Plan | Trig | Trig 1 |
Canterbury
| Record type | CSD type | Example alternate survey number |
|---|---|---|
| Road diversion plan | RD | RD 147M |
| Large Plot | LP | LP 514 |
| Small Plot | SP | SP 1000A |
Otago
| Record type | CSD type | Example alternate survey number |
|---|---|---|
| Railway Plan | RP | RP 4A |