Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ralph Westgarth was born at Ascot Vale, Victoria on 19th April 1911 and died on 27th July 1974. Ralph was educated at Essendon High School. It was during his time there that he started his long association with the army when he served several years with the Senior Cadets. He commenced his working career with Goldsbrough Mort (a firm of wool brokers and stock and station agents) and later joined the Victorian Crown Lands and Survey Department as a draftsman in June 1931.

In May 1935, Ralph enlisted in the Permanent Army with a rank of WO II in the Australian Survey Corps and served as a member of the Cartographic Section at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne. This team was mainly engaged in the production of military maps – completely hand drawn to a very high standard of cartography. It was during his time there that Ralph met and then married Stel Miller in 1938.

During the early period of the war, Ralph was engaged in organising the reproduction of military maps at various private and Government printing establishments in order to supply the vastly increased map requirements for the army. He was commissioned in 1941 and in June 1942 moved with LHQ Cartographic Company to “Fortuna” in Bendigo where he was in charge of the drawing section.

In June 1944, Ralph was allotted to duty with the 1st Australian Mobile Lithographic Section, which was a forward echelon map producing unit. With this unit, Ralph saw service in Queensland and overseas at Morotai. At the end of the war this unit was disbanded, and Ralph returned to his old unit at Bendigo. In 1949, Ralph took his discharge from the Army after 14 years of continuous service.

Upon leaving the army, Ralph joined the Victorian State Electricity Commission as a draftsman with the Coal Production Branch where he was engaged on topographical and geological mapping work for the SEC’s large brown coal extraction projects in the Latrobe Valley. At the time of his death, he occupied the position of Section Leader Draftsman with the SEC’s Exploration and Geological Division, Planning and Investigations Department.

Ralph maintained close contact with his Army colleagues after discharge from the Army. He organised the first combined Cartographic Company – Mobile Lithographic Section reunion in 1951 and from then on continued to arrange this annual function each year up until the time of his death. He was a member of the Hampton RSL Bowling Club and was President for a number of years.

Ralph’s association with the Australian Institute of Cartographers was a long one. He was a member of the original group which formed the Institute in 1952 and was elected as the inaugural President. He worked hard to establish the institute and to ensure it was on a solid foundation for the future. After his term as President, he continued to serve on Council and undertook the position of Advertising Manager for its “Cartography” publication.

Ralph was a keen sportsman from his high school days until his death and excelled at many sports. He was captain of the 1st Eleven cricket team and the 1st Eighteen AFL team as well as excelling at many track and field sports in high school. Later he and his wife took up golf and tennis before moving to bowls in his later life.