BOOK REVIEW
The Measure of the Man: The Life of Archie Bogle CBE, FNZIS, Surveyor of the Century
Edited by Gordon Andreassend, Andrew Blackman and Don McKay; published by Survey and Spatial New Zealand; 335pp.
The cover of this handsome book shows a strapping young man making observations with a vernier theodolite under a tripod of bush poles. In the background are the shapes and colours of the rugged New Zealand landscape.
Immediately we know that this is Archie Bogle, a surveyor, in an image from the first half of the 20th Century. We may also deduce that this man is no longer alive and that, with 20 mm thickness of book ahead, he was special.
In all of that, our deductions are correct but incomplete — this book is more than just the recounting of a remarkable life.
The Measure of the Man is a compilation of three parts. The first is a reprint of Bogle’s own Links in the Chain, published in 1975 and republished in 2022. Written in the first person, it recounts some of his experiences from a time when the surveyor was the ‘pathfinder,’ preceding European settlement. The conditions were often primitive, the terrain inhospitable and the dangers many.
Through these stories, told in an understated, even whimsical style, Bogle’s humanity and his interest in and care for people, comes through, particularly his appreciation of the Maori people whose lives were to be disrupted by the settlements that would follow him. Links in the Chain covers Bogle’s surveying life through to his early forties when he became a member of the Survey Board of NZ.
The second part, Surveyor Extraordinaire, is a concise biography of Bogle written by Donald McKay, who asks “Why was Archie so revered?” and then goes on to answer the question. Apart from entering private practice early in his career, he unselfishly contributed to society and his profession as a member of land, town planning and geographic boards.
Bogle also held high office in the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors, edited its journal for 29 years and contributed philosophical editorials and papers serious and ironic. He served in WWI and WWII. He was also known as an athlete, family man, poet, singer, actor, linguist and conversationalist. He was the recipient of many formal awards including the CBE. McKay has answered his own question with reverence.
The Measure of the Man hits its straps in its third part: The Best of Bogle is a curated collection of editorials, papers, poetry and stories humorous and serious. There are public addresses, family stories, WWI human vignettes and more — even cartoons — all but a few the work of Bogle himself. And through this part the real Bogle finally appears. In Part 1 we get a glimpse of a capable, strong and humanistic man. In Part 2 we learn of his extraordinary contributions beyond his own practice and interests. In Part 3 the thoughtful, caring, witty man appears.
His humour is without rancour or bite, his philosophy not laid on with a trowel. He loved his profession and demonstrated it. We learn why he was more than revered. Bogle was loved. The Measure of the Man is a love story.
The Measure of the Man is a valuable work for a variety of reasons. It is an historical record which accurately relates the rigorous contributions made by previous generations of surveyors who provided the foundation for what are now called the spatial sciences. Its number of pages may give the appearance of a heavy read, but it is a book to dip in and out of, to be savoured over time.
For this reviewer, the book raises a question he cannot answer but nonetheless asks: Where, from our professional journals and written communications — which convey so well the important and serious matters of science, technology and its applications, education and certification etc — has the humour, the whimsy, gone?
Bogle was an energetic and successful leader in action, thought and word. He recognised the essential binding elements of humour, lightness, whimsy and sentimentality in human relationships. Could this book be a catalyst for the re-introduction of these elements into the communication channels of professional societies?
The text is complemented with numerous, excellent photographs and illustrations, a comprehensive index and end notes for Part 2. The Glossary of Terms is a comprehensive yet relaxed guide for non-surveyors that may cause technocrats and perfectionists to suck their teeth.
Survey and Spatial New Zealand and its three editors should be congratulated for bringing The Measure of the Man to life.
Reviewed by Peter Byrne, Hon Fellow SSSI and author of Geometer Dreams (2022).
You can order your copy of the book from the S+SNZ website.
