Our History

J.R. (‘Jack’) Crowther gained registration as a Licenced Surveyor on 26 September 1942, working with the State Rivers and Water Supply and for the Snowy Mountains Corporation on the Snowy Mountains scheme.  Jack made the shift to private practice in 1951, hanging up his own shingle from his home office in Bairnsdale.    Well respected in his field, Jack was instrumental in documenting many areas throughout Gippsland.  Some of Jack’s earliest projects were large scale feature surveys for the soon to be developed coal mines in the Latrobe Valley. Many surveys documented by the firm J.R. Crowther remain in use today. 

 At the time Crowther started his practice, Michael Sadler was still in nappies, but after graduating in 1971, Michael Sadler worked with the Commonwealth Department of Interior, gaining valuable experience in Cadastral and Engineering Surveying at various postings across the State.  Having married a Bairnsdale girl, Michael approached Jack in early 1973 hoping to secure a local role that would not see him relocating every 3 months.  Jack was initially concerned there may not be sufficient work to keep the young Surveyor busy, and took some convincing that another Surveyor could be accommodated.    Those concerns were unfounded, as once Michael joined Jack in February 1974 the business experienced a period of high activity and steady growth, and continued to grow exponentially with Jack and Michael forging a strong partnership.  Together, they established the burgeoning practice from Jack’s back shed, at the time painstakingly drawing plans with purple pencil, and ‘photocopying’ by pressing wet tissue paper against the drawings. Subsequent to obtaining registration with the Surveyors Board of Victoria on 28 February 1975, Jack made Michael a partner with the business renamed J.R. Crowther & Sadler.  Jack remained active in the business until his retirement in 1982.   Operating under the guidance of Michael as Managing Director, Crowther & Sadler has evolved and expanded its professional reach to be a multi-disciplinary practice which today provides not only Surveying services, but also a very strong Town Planning and Natural Resource Management suite of services.  This expansion has enabled Michael and the team to undertake a large number of projects, particularly those that require strong design and project management. 

Crowther & Sadler has since played a significant role in the development of the local area. Region-defining developments such as the Paynesville canals, Eastwood, Kings Cove, and Merringbaur Heights were all designed at Crowther & Sadler.  Throughout the business’ growth, Crowther & Sadler has remained a family-owned business, placing a strong emphasis on community engagement.