The Hydrographic Department holds a vast collection of original and printed charts covering the world's seas and coastlines, including islands, reefs and nautical hazards. The charts produced on the voyages of Royal Navy surveying ships from the beginning of the nineteenth century until the present form the core of the collection. In addition, there are charts made on earlier voyages of exploration and voyages made by ships of the East India Company and other merchant ships.The 144 charts copied by the Australian Joint Copying Project and listed below are the earliest Australian and New Zealand charts held in the Hydrographic Department.