Featured Map Store Publisher - Doug Stone Gold Maps

Opening Up Digital Space for Doug Stone Gold Maps

Australia is one of the world's largest producers of gold and contains some of the richest gold reserves on the planet. In the course of its history, Australia has seen multiple gold rushes, and even today, for would-be prospectors, metal detecting and relic hunting are popular activities across the country. Doug Stone, of Doug Stone Gold Maps, has been making maps and atlases of Australia's many goldfields for 40 years.

Stone's popular maps, which are sold in paper versions on his website as well as in digital format in the, Avenza Map Store provide users with highly detailed and accurate maps of reefs, dig sites, mines, access tracks and public land open to prospecting by the public. Each map is field checked for accuracy and updated regularly. To date, Stone has produced three atlases of Australian goldfields on New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. Stone's ultimate plan is to map all of Australia's major gold fields, and an atlas of Queensland is on the list of maps he'd like to make someday.

“We love what we do, though it's been a long haul,” says Stone, “But we just keep beavering away on our quest to map all of Australia's major goldfields.”

Stone promotes his Avenza Map Store listings on his website—a simple cross-selling tactic which makes it easy for customers to obtain digital maps as a companion to paper copies.

“Paper maps are great for planning, scribbling on, pouring over with others, but digital is great for navigation—especially for inexperienced navigators.”

Stone's current project is a set of historical maps relating to the history of the Chinese involvement in Australian Gold Rushes between 1850s and 1920s. The maps will detail where Chinese prospectors landed, trekked, mined and gardened during and after the gold rushes.

Stone, who lives in Victoria, Australia says his favorite place in the world is the sparsely populated and arid, but resource-rich Pilbara region, in the northern part of Western Australia. ‘The spinifex, the tyranny of distance, the heat and the shear beauty of hidden gorges and rugged mountain ranges makes it a true outback experience.’ says Stone.

See all Doug Stone Gold Mapsin the Avenza Map Store and onwww.dougstonegoldmaps.com.au