Historical information

Gunter's chain (also known as Gunter’s measurement) is a distance measuring device used for surveying. It was designed and introduced in 1620 by English clergyman and mathematician Edmund Gunter (1581–1626). It enabled plots of land to be accurately surveyed and plotted, for legal and commercial purposes. The provenance of this particular Gunter Chain is unknown but it is believed to be used either by the City of Bendigo / Sandhurst or the Lands Department locally when measuring and laying out plots and streets locally.

Physical description

A 66-foot (20.1 m) chain divided into 100 links, marked off into groups of 10 by brass rings or tags. Each link is 7.92 inches (201 mm) long. A quarter chain, or 25 links, measures 16 feet 6 inches (5.03 m) also called a a rod (or pole) measure. Ten chains measure a furlong and 80 chains measure a statute mile.