Constructed by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and 1869, after 10 years of construction the Suez Canal was officially opened on 17 November 1869. When it was first built the canal was 164km long and 26 feet deep. After several enlargements, it is now 193.30km long, 79 feet deep and 205 metres wide. It contains no locks system, with seawater flowing freely through it.

The construction of the canal was long, arduous and fraught with financial difficulties. Thousands of labourers died in the process, and upon opening the canal would have a dramatic impact on world trade and the ongoing colonisation of Africa. Nonetheless, it was a feat of engineering that shortened the Europe-Asia trade route by 9,600 kilometres, and is still used to this day – in 2012 alone, 17,225 vessels traversed the canal (47 per day). That’s around 4.6% of all global oil and petroleum products, and 7.5% of all global maritime trade.

This 1/250,000 scale map of the Suez Canal comes from the papers of Dr Douglas Kennedy, Director-General of Health between 1965 and 1972. He had previously been Director of Public Health between 1960 and 1964 and an Assistant and Deputy Director of Public Health between 1957 and 1960, and had served in the 2NZEF during World War II as part of the New Zealand Medical Corp. It is thought this map was obtained during that time.

Archives Reference: PACB 7375 W4809 Box 13 <a href="https://archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=1989024" rel="nofollow">archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=1989024</a>

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