Mapworld and Hema Maps: A Shared History of Australian Mapping

by Christopher O'Keeffe June 26, 2026

Long before online shopping, downloadable mapping and GPS navigation became commonplace, Hema Maps and Mapworld built an Australian network that connected specialist publishing with specialist retail. Their shared history helped shape how generations of Australians bought maps, planned journeys and explored the country.

The histories of Mapworld and Hema Maps are closely connected.

Today, the two businesses have distinct roles.

Hema Maps is one of Australia’s leading publishers of road, touring, four-wheel-drive and adventure mapping.

Mapworld is Australia’s largest specialist map shop, supplying maps, nautical charts, globes, compasses, navigational equipment and geographic products to customers throughout Australia and internationally.

For many years, however, Mapworld was the retail face of Hema Maps.

Hema produced and distributed an expanding range of Australian and international cartographic products.

Mapworld placed those products in specialist shops where customers could browse them, compare them and receive informed advice from experienced staff.

The relationship was founded on a simple insight:

Producing a comprehensive range of maps was not enough. Those maps also needed specialist places in which they could be displayed, understood and sold.

Browse Mapworld’s current Hema Maps collection, which continues that relationship today through an extensive selection of maps, atlases, guides, wall maps and navigation products.

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The Beginning of Hema Maps

Hema Maps was founded in Brisbane in 1983 by Henry and Margaret Boegheim.

The name Hema was created from the first two letters of their names:

• HE from Henry

• MA from Margaret

The company began modestly from the Boegheim family home.

In its earliest form, Hema distributed maps and marine charts and provided chart-laminating services.

This beginning is important because it reveals the practical foundation on which the later company was built.

Hema did not begin as an abstract technology business.

It began with physical maps, real customers and the need to make cartographic information more accessible, useful and durable.

From the outset, Henry and Margaret understood that maps were not ordinary printed products.

Customers often needed help determining:

• which map covered a particular location

• which scale was appropriate

• whether the map was current

• whether adjoining sheets were required

• how a map should be protected

• whether it was suitable for travel, navigation, research or display

That understanding would eventually shape both Hema’s publishing model and the Mapworld retail network.

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Why Hema Needed Its Own Map Shops

As Hema’s range expanded, Henry and Margaret encountered a fundamental distribution problem.

A general bookshop might stock:

• a road atlas

• a city street directory

• several popular folded maps

• a small selection of travel guides

A newsagency might carry:

• local street maps

• state road maps

• touring publications

• current street directories

But neither was likely to dedicate enough shelf space to a genuinely comprehensive mapping range.

Hema was developing and distributing products that included:

• Australian state maps

• regional maps

• city maps

• international travel maps

• marine charts

• wall maps

• road atlases

• specialist touring maps

• less common geographic titles

These products required more than a narrow rack beside the travel books.

They required specialist shops staffed by people who understood maps.

Henry and Margaret recognised that bookshops and newsagencies would never stock the full diversity of Australian and international mapping that Hema wanted to bring to market.

The solution was to create a chain of dedicated map shops.

That retail chain became Mapworld.

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Publishing and Retail Working Together

The relationship between Hema and Mapworld created a powerful business model.

Hema could focus on:

• sourcing maps

• distributing cartographic products

• developing Australian mapping

• improving map accuracy

• building relationships with publishers

• producing new maps, atlases and guides

Mapworld could focus on:

• displaying the full product range

• helping customers select the right maps

• explaining scale and coverage

• supplying government and institutional clients

• handling specialist orders

• giving the public direct access to maps

This was more than a conventional publisher-and-retailer relationship.

The two sides informed one another.

Retail customers revealed which maps were difficult to find.

Shop staff learned which products travellers were requesting.

Questions asked across the counter showed where existing mapping was inadequate.

The stores created a direct connection between publishers, retailers and the people who used maps in the field.

That feedback became particularly valuable as Hema moved beyond general map distribution and into original Australian adventure mapping.

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The Brisbane and Eight Mile Plains Operations

Mapworld maintained a major Brisbane presence closely connected with Hema’s operations.

The Brisbane-area shop operated near Hema’s Eight Mile Plains factory and warehouse, giving Mapworld a direct physical connection to the publishing and distribution side of the business.

The shop supplied:

• Hema products

• Australian road maps

• international maps

• nautical charts

• wall maps

• topographic maps

• atlases

• globes

• travel products

• navigational equipment

Being located close to the Hema warehouse provided an obvious advantage.

The retailer and publisher were not distant organisations communicating through several levels of distribution.

They formed part of the same mapping enterprise.

New products could move directly into the retail environment.

Customer questions could be communicated back to the publishing team.

Specialist orders could be supported by people who understood the underlying product range.

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280 Pitt Street, Sydney: The Flagship Store

The Mapworld shop at 280 Pitt Street became the flagship of the retail chain.

Located in central Sydney, it served an unusually broad customer base.

Customers included:

• travellers

• teachers

• students

• sailors

• government departments

• Defence personnel

• businesses

• planners

• surveyors

• outdoor users

• map collectors

The store was managed for a period by the redoubtable Carter Valle, who became an important part of the personality and memory of Mapworld’s Sydney operation.

Carter was supported over the years by a diverse and committed team that included:

• Leigh

• Sergio

• Fernando

• Will

• Ivo

• Larissa

• Izzy

• Sue

Each person contributed to the specialist service for which the store became known.

Pitt Street was not a general retailer with a token rack of maps.

It was a complete specialist map shop.

Its shelves included:

• Hema maps

• Australian topographic series

• nautical charts

• international folded maps

• globes

• wall maps

• road atlases

• street directories

• travel guides

• compasses

• specialist geographic publications

Customers could walk in with little more than a place name, a proposed route or a broad requirement and receive help identifying the correct product.

That process required much more than remembering where stock was located.

Staff had to understand:

• map scale

• sheet coverage

• adjoining sheets

• publication dates

• chart numbers

• road-map detail

• international publishers

• available formats and finishes

The store developed long-term relationships with customers who returned because they trusted the knowledge behind the counter.

That specialist conversation remains at the heart of Mapworld today.

The method of delivery has changed.

The commitment to finding the right map has not.

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Crows Nest: Mapworld on Sydney’s North Shore

Mapworld also operated from 136 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest.

The Crows Nest shop served Sydney’s North Shore and developed its own loyal customer base.

Its team included:

• Matt

• Marta

• Larissa

• another staff member also named Matt

• Liliana

Larissa’s work across both the Pitt Street and Crows Nest locations reflected the close relationship between the Sydney shops and the willingness of experienced staff to support different parts of the network.

The Crows Nest shop was particularly well placed to serve:

• families

• schools

• sailors

• international travellers

• local businesses

• outdoor enthusiasts

• customers seeking wall maps and globes

It provided another place where customers could explore maps physically.

A world map could be compared with another projection.

A globe could be examined before purchase.

A nautical-chart user could discuss coverage and adjoining charts.

A traveller could place several regional maps side by side before deciding which combination was most useful.

The Crows Nest shop demonstrated why specialist map retail was valuable.

Maps are highly visual products.

Their dimensions, scale, coverage, colour and clarity can be difficult to appreciate from a short catalogue description.

A knowledgeable retailer helps the customer understand those differences.

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Canberra and Northbourne Avenue

Mapworld’s Canberra shop operated from the Jolimont Centre at 65 Northbourne Avenue.

Its staff included:

• Carina

• Andrew

• Will

Will’s involvement in both Sydney and Canberra demonstrated the way specialist knowledge and experience could move across the Mapworld network.

The Canberra location placed Mapworld close to the centre of Australian government, diplomacy and national administration.

Its customers included:

• Commonwealth departments

• Defence

• embassies

• international organisations

• policy researchers

• universities

• schools

• travellers

• Canberra residents

Canberra had mapping requirements unlike those of most Australian cities.

Government departments required:

• national maps

• international maps

• political maps

• topographic mapping

• large wall maps

• regional planning products

• globes

• specialist geographic references

Embassies and international organisations needed accurate representations of countries and regions throughout the world.

Defence and government customers required staff who could understand technical enquiries and locate products that might never be found in an ordinary bookshop.

The Northbourne Avenue shop gave Hema and Mapworld a presence in a city where geographic information was central to policy, defence, diplomacy and national planning.

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A National Specialist Retail Network

Together, the Mapworld shops created a genuine national specialist retail presence.

The network included:

• Brisbane

• Eight Mile Plains

• Sydney city

• Crows Nest

• Canberra

In Western Australia, the O’Keeffe family operated Perth Map Centre, which would later become central to the next stage of Mapworld’s development.

The network enabled customers to access a depth of stock that ordinary retail channels could not provide.

It also helped sustain less common products.

A specialist map shop could stock:

• maps of remote regions

• complete topographic series

• charts of less frequently visited waters

• uncommon international maps

• specialist wall maps

• government publications

• niche atlases and guides

A general retailer judged each map according to how quickly it might sell.

A specialist retailer understood that the value of the business lay in having the correct map available when someone needed it.

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Hema Discovers the Australian Outback

The development of Mapworld as a retail chain coincided with a major transformation within Hema Maps itself.

In 1989, Henry and Margaret purchased their first four-wheel-drive vehicle.

They crossed the Simpson Desert, travelled the Gunbarrel Highway and explored Cape York.

What they encountered changed the direction of the company.

The available maps of remote Australia were often:

• outdated

• incomplete

• insufficiently detailed

• poorly suited to four-wheel-drive travel

• unable to reflect changing track conditions

Henry and Margaret realised that distributing other publishers’ maps would not be enough.

Hema needed to produce its own.

Within several years, Hema was creating specialist mapping for regions including:

• Cape York

• the Kimberley

• the Flinders Ranges

• the Top End

• the Simpson Desert

• remote and outback Australia

This shift established the foundation of the modern Hema brand.

The company was no longer simply distributing maps.

It was becoming one of Australia’s most important original cartographic publishers.

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From Government Data to Field-Checked Mapping

Early Hema products drew on available government mapping.

Government maps, however, did not always reflect the practical realities of remote travel.

A road or track could appear on an official map without showing whether it was:

• open

• closed

• overgrown

• washed out

• privately controlled

• suitable only for four-wheel-drive vehicles

• no longer physically present

Hema’s solution was field checking.

Staff travelled the roads and tracks themselves.

They recorded:

• track alignments

• road surfaces

• junctions

• fuel locations

• camping areas

• water

• points of interest

• access information

• geographic features

This field-based culture became one of Hema’s defining qualities.

The maps were produced by people who had travelled through the country being mapped.

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The Birth of the Hema Map Patrol

In 1996, Hema invested heavily in GPS technology for field mapping.

The equipment of the period was bulky and far less convenient than modern handheld devices.

Data collection involved:

• GPS receivers

• manual records

• paper notes

• early computers

• lengthy processing

• careful cartographic editing

Nevertheless, GPS gave Hema the ability to record tracks and points directly in the field with far greater consistency.

The field teams became known as the Hema Map Patrol.

The Map Patrol went on to become one of the most recognisable parts of the Hema story.

Its vehicles travelled throughout remote Australia, checking routes that could not be verified reliably from an office.

That fieldwork helped establish Hema’s reputation among:

• four-wheel drivers

• caravan travellers

• campers

• tour operators

• remote-area travellers

• emergency and service organisations

Products such as the Cape York Hema Map, the Great Desert Tracks Map Pack and the Australia Road and 4WD Atlas grew from that commitment to field-checked mapping.

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The Transition of 2005

By 2005, Henry and Margaret had spent more than two decades building both Hema Maps and the Mapworld retail network.

They were ready to step back from the retail side of mapping.

Their son, Rob Boegheim, was increasingly focused on Hema’s future as a specialist publisher.

The direction was clear.

Hema’s greatest opportunity lay in:

• original Australian cartography

• field-checked four-wheel-drive maps

• touring atlases

• travel guides

• digital map data

• GPS navigation

In 2005, Henry and Margaret sold the Mapworld retail business to Patrick and Christopher O’Keeffe.

This transaction should not be confused with a sale of Hema Maps itself.

Mapworld—the retail chain—passed to the O’Keeffe family.

Hema remained the Boegheim family’s publishing and mapping business, with Rob taking increasing responsibility for its future direction.

The separation allowed the two businesses to specialise.

Hema could concentrate on creating maps and navigation products.

Mapworld could concentrate on specialist retail, customer service, institutional supply and the emerging opportunities in online and print-on-demand mapping.

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Christopher O’Keeffe and the East-Coast Stores

Following the purchase, Christopher O’Keeffe took over as Managing Director of the Mapworld shops on the east coast.

This included the major operations in:

• Brisbane

• Sydney

• Crows Nest

• Canberra

Christopher inherited much more than a collection of retail premises.

He inherited:

• established customer relationships

• experienced specialist staff

• institutional accounts

• complex product ranges

• international suppliers

• nautical-chart systems

• topographic-map indexes

• the Mapworld name

• a tradition of technical customer service

Managing several specialist shops required a very different approach from ordinary retail.

Each location needed to understand numerous categories, including:

• topographic mapping

• nautical charts

• touring maps

• street directories

• international travel maps

• wall maps

• globes

• navigational products

• government publications

The experience and dedication of the staff were essential to maintaining service across the network during a period of profound technological and retail change.

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Patrick O’Keeffe and the Perth Map Centre Team

While Christopher managed the east-coast Mapworld operations, Patrick O’Keeffe remained in Western Australia to oversee Perth Map Centre.

Patrick was supported by Steve and Naomi, who became important members of the Perth Map Centre team and contributed to the specialist knowledge and customer service for which the business was known.

Located for many years at 900 Hay Street, Perth Map Centre was one of Western Australia’s best-known specialist chart and map retailers.

Its customers included:

• mining companies

• mariners

• schools

• government departments

• surveyors

• four-wheel drivers

• travellers

• businesses

• property professionals

Western Australia created unusually demanding mapping requirements.

The state is defined by:

• enormous distances

• remote mining regions

• an extensive and complex coastline

• offshore navigation

• desert travel

• isolated communities

• limited services

• strong demand for technical mapping

Patrick, Steve and Naomi helped customers navigate a substantial range of:

• Western Australian topographic maps

• official nautical charts

• mining and resource maps

• pastoral maps

• road and touring maps

• four-wheel-drive maps

• wall maps

• globes

• international travel maps

• navigational equipment

• government publications

Like the Mapworld staff on the east coast, the Perth Map Centre team frequently worked from incomplete customer information.

A customer might provide only:

• the name of a mine

• a remote pastoral station

• a coastal destination

• a proposed four-wheel-drive route

• a harbour

• a broad geographic area

• a set of coordinates

• the dimensions of a wall

The team then had to identify the most appropriate map, chart, scale or format.

Steve and Naomi helped Patrick maintain the personal, technically informed service that distinguished Perth Map Centre from an ordinary bookshop or outdoor retailer.

Their contribution became part of the foundation on which the modern national Mapworld business was built.

Over time, Perth Map Centre and the Mapworld name came together within the specialist online and print-on-demand operation now known throughout Australia as Mapworld.

Read more in Chart & Map Specialists: Mapworld, Perth Map Centre and the Future of Print-on-Demand Mapping.

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The People Behind the Mapworld and Perth Map Centre Shops

The history of a specialist retail network cannot be told only through store addresses, company ownership and product ranges.

Its character was created by the people who worked in the shops.

At 280 Pitt Street in Sydney, the team included:

• Carter Valle

• Leigh

• Sergio

• Fernando

• Will

• Ivo

• Larissa

• Izzy

• Sue

At Crows Nest, the team included:

• Matthew

• Marta

• Larissa

• Matt

• Liliana

At the Canberra shop, the team included:

• Carina

• Andrew

• Will

At Perth Map Centre, Patrick O’Keeffe worked alongside:

• Steve

• Naomi

Together, these staff members:

• learned complex map and chart ranges

• handled unusual geographic enquiries

• built relationships with government and institutional customers

• assisted schools, mariners, miners and travellers

• sourced products from Australian and international publishers

• explained topographic-sheet and nautical-chart coverage

• helped customers select globes and wall maps

• kept specialist mapping accessible to the public

Customers may remember the location of a particular shop, but they often returned because they remembered the person who had helped them.

A successful specialist map-shop employee needed patience, curiosity and a willingness to investigate.

Customers did not always arrive with map numbers or product codes.

They arrived with questions such as:

• “Which topographic map covers this station?”

• “Which charts do I need for this passage?”

• “Can you find a map of the village my family came from?”

• “Which map shows this mining area?”

• “What is the best atlas for travelling around Australia?”

• “Can this map be enlarged and laminated?”

• “Which roads are suitable for a four-wheel drive?”

• “What wall map will be readable across a boardroom?”

Answering those questions required accumulated knowledge and genuine service.

Mapworld gratefully acknowledges Carter, Leigh, Sergio, Fernando, Will, Ivo, Larissa, Izzy, Sue, Matthew, Marta, Matt, Liliana, Carina, Andrew, Steve and Naomi for their contributions to the stores and to Australia’s specialist mapping industry.

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Rob Boegheim and a New Era for Hema

Rob Boegheim grew up around maps, publishing and four-wheel-drive travel.

Under his stewardship, Hema strengthened its position as one of Australia’s leading adventure-mapping brands.

The quality of the products produced during this period was exemplary.

Hema continued to refine:

• field-checked regional maps

• state maps

• national atlases

• four-wheel-drive guides

• Great Desert Tracks products

• Cape York mapping

• Kimberley mapping

• High Country mapping

• touring and camping information

Rob understood that Hema’s future would involve both paper and digital products.

This was not a choice between old and new.

The same field data could support:

• folded paper maps

• wall maps

• atlases

• guides

• GPS devices

• mobile navigation

• digital map databases

Hema’s strength came from the quality of its underlying geographic information.

The format could change while the commitment to accuracy remained.

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The Hema Navigator

The concept of the Hema Navigator began in 2007.

Rob Boegheim was a driving force behind the project.

In 2008, Hema introduced the HN1, an early portable navigation system combining on-road and off-road navigation for Australian travellers.

This was a significant development.

Conventional automotive GPS units were designed primarily for urban and highway travel.

Hema wanted a navigation system for people leaving sealed roads behind.

The Navigator brought together:

• turn-by-turn road navigation

• Hema’s off-road mapping

• GPS positioning

• remote-area tracks

• camping and touring information

• verified points of interest

It allowed travellers to see their position directly on Hema mapping.

Later Navigator models expanded the system with:

• improved mapping

• larger screens

• additional points of interest

• Wi-Fi updates

• trip planning

• cloud services

• reversing-camera support

• increasingly sophisticated off-road navigation

Mapworld became an experienced retailer and supporter of the Hema Navigator range.

The relationship was a natural continuation of the original Mapworld–Hema model.

Hema developed the product.

Mapworld helped customers select, understand and use it.

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Paper and Digital Mapping Were Never Enemies

The history of Hema demonstrates that paper and digital mapping are not opposing systems.

Both depend on:

• reliable geographic data

• careful field checking

• sound cartography

• appropriate scale

• readable design

• regular revision

Digital navigation offers:

• live positioning

• search

• route guidance

• portability

• multiple data layers

Paper maps provide:

• a broad regional overview

• easier group planning

• independence from electricity

• spatial context

• a permanent reference

Hema succeeded because it recognised the value of both.

The company moved into GPS technology without abandoning printed mapping.

Its modern range still includes:

• folded maps

• wall maps

• road atlases

• four-wheel-drive atlases

• travel guides

• digital navigation products

Mapworld reflects the same philosophy.

It supports digital navigation while continuing to advocate for the practical value of physical maps.

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Henry Boegheim’s Print-on-Demand Vision

At the time the O’Keeffe family acquired Mapworld, Henry Boegheim was already a strong advocate for print-on-demand mapping.

He believed the future of specialist physical mapping would not depend entirely on publishers printing thousands of identical sheets and storing them in warehouses.

Instead, maps could increasingly be produced:

• when required

• in the size required

• on the material required

• in quantities appropriate to demand

This was a remarkably farsighted view.

Traditional map publishing involved substantial risk.

A publisher had to:

1. prepare the cartography;

2. print a large commercial quantity;

3. warehouse the stock;

4. distribute it nationally;

5. hope it sold before becoming outdated.

Print on demand offered another path.

A digital master could be stored and produced as customers needed it.

This made it possible to support:

• low-volume maps

• uncommon geographic areas

• revised editions

• historical maps

• government mapping

• custom wall maps

• multiple sizes and finishes

Henry recognised that print on demand could preserve public access to physical mapping even as conventional production runs became less viable.

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Mapworld Embraces Henry’s Vision

Print-on-demand production now forms the backbone of Mapworld’s business.

Using professional large-format HP printers, Mapworld produces:

• topographic maps

• wall maps

• historical maps

• government mapping

• fine-art prints

• technical plans

• aerial imagery

• custom-sized maps

• canvas products

Mapworld also provides:

• professional hot lamination

• waterproof media

• custom resizing

• timber hang rails

• short-run production

• large-format copying and finishing

This model allows Mapworld to maintain a range far broader than could be supported through preprinted stock alone.

A map does not necessarily need to sell thousands of copies to remain available.

It can be produced when the customer requires it.

That is precisely the future Henry foresaw.

Learn more through:

• Mapworld and HP: The Perfect Partnership

• Professional Custom Printing and Lamination

• Hot Lamination at Mapworld

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From Physical Shops to a National Online Business

The map-retailing environment changed dramatically after 2005.

Customers increasingly moved online.

Street-directory sales declined.

Phone navigation became commonplace.

International map supply became more complicated.

Government mapping agencies moved away from traditional printed-map production.

Maintaining several physical map shops became progressively more difficult.

Mapworld responded by transforming from a chain of city shops into a national online specialist.

The physical stores had created the foundation:

• product knowledge

• supplier relationships

• institutional accounts

• chart expertise

• topographic-map knowledge

• customer trust

The staff who worked in Brisbane, Sydney, Crows Nest, Canberra and Perth helped build that foundation.

Their work did not disappear when the shopfront model changed.

The knowledge, systems and customer relationships they developed became part of the national Mapworld business.

The online model extended that expertise across the country.

A customer in regional Western Australia, Tasmania, Cape York, Darwin or outback New South Wales could now access the specialist range once concentrated in major-city stores.

The shop became national.

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The Continuing Mapworld–Hema Relationship

Although Mapworld and Hema became separate businesses in 2005, the relationship between them never ended.

Mapworld remains one of Australia’s most comprehensive specialist suppliers of Hema products.

The current Hema Maps collection includes products for:

• national road travel

• caravan touring

• four-wheel driving

• regional exploration

• desert crossings

• state travel

• camping

• wall display

• trip planning

• GPS navigation

Representative products include:

• Australia Road and 4WD Atlas

• Australia Touring Atlas

• Cape York Hema Map

• Great Desert Tracks Map Pack

• Western Australia Road and 4WD Track Atlas

• Australia Road and Terrain Map

• Australia Hema Supermap

Mapworld also produces many Hema wall-map formats locally, allowing selected products to be supplied as:

• paper wall maps

• laminated wall maps

• enlarged Supermaps

• canvas maps

• maps with timber hang rails

The relationship therefore continues at several levels.

Hema provides trusted Australian cartography.

Mapworld provides specialist retail, production, finishing and national distribution.

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Why Hema Maps Became So Important

Hema’s success was not based only on attractive map design.

It developed from several long-term strengths.

Field Checking

Hema travelled roads and tracks rather than relying entirely on desk-based information.

Specialisation

The company concentrated on Australian touring, remote travel and four-wheel-drive mapping.

Practical Information

Products included the details travellers genuinely required, such as:

• fuel

• campsites

• road classifications

• national parks

• points of interest

• remote facilities

Consistent Cartography

Travellers moving between Hema products encountered a familiar visual language.

Multiple Formats

Hema information appeared in:

• maps

• atlases

• guides

• GPS devices

• apps

• in-dash navigation

Commitment to Quality

Under Rob Boegheim’s stewardship, the company maintained a strong commitment to accurate, practical and well-designed products.

Read more in Hema Maps Explained.

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Hema’s Next Chapter

Hema entered another chapter in 2025 when the company was sold to businessman and outdoor adventurer Sam Hayward.

The change came more than four decades after Henry and Margaret founded the business.

Hema’s future now combines:

• its traditional printed-map heritage

• digital navigation

• modern field-data collection

• in-vehicle mapping

• mobile products

• continued Australian adventure cartography

Despite the growth of digital products, printed Hema maps remain an important part of Australian travel.

They are still unfolded around kitchen tables, opened on vehicle bonnets and carried into remote regions where broader context and independent navigation matter.

The company Henry and Margaret began in their Brisbane home has become part of Australian travel culture.

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A Thank You to Henry and Margaret Boegheim

Mapworld owes an enormous debt of gratitude to Henry and Margaret Boegheim.

They helped build the Australian mapping industry in two distinct but closely connected ways.

As publishers and mapmakers, they created Hema Maps.

As retailers, they created and developed the Mapworld chain.

They understood that Australia needed:

• better maps

• broader product ranges

• specialist shops

• informed staff

• stronger links between publishers and map users

They also recognised the future importance of:

• field-checked mapping

• GPS technology

• digital cartography

• print-on-demand production

Their influence continues within both businesses.

Every Hema map sold by Mapworld is part of that shared history.

Every specialist map printed on demand reflects Henry’s early belief that physical mapping could survive by becoming more flexible, responsive and technically capable.

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A Thank You to Rob Boegheim

Mapworld also wishes to recognise Rob Boegheim’s contribution.

Rob took Hema into a new technological and cartographic era.

He helped strengthen:

• the Map Patrol

• field-checked mapping

• four-wheel-drive cartography

• digital data collection

• the Hema Navigator

• apps and electronic navigation

• Hema’s modern atlas and guide range

Throughout that development, the commitment to quality remained evident.

Hema products under Rob’s stewardship were not created simply to fill spaces in a catalogue.

They were designed to help Australians travel with greater confidence.

That adherence to excellence has been fundamental to Hema’s standing within the industry.

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A Thank You to the Mapworld and Perth Map Centre Teams

Mapworld extends its sincere thanks to the people who helped make its shops and Perth Map Centre successful.

At Pitt Street, Carter Valle, Leigh, Sergio, Fernando, Will, Ivo, Larissa, Izzy and Sue contributed to a flagship operation serving customers from Sydney, regional New South Wales and well beyond.

At Crows Nest, Matt, Marta, Larissa, the second Matt and Liliana built strong relationships with North Shore families, businesses, schools, travellers and mariners.

In Canberra, Carina, Andrew and Will served government departments, Defence, embassies, educational institutions and the wider Canberra community.

At Perth Map Centre, Patrick O’Keeffe, Steve and Naomi served the distinctive mapping needs of Western Australia’s mining, maritime, government, education, travel and four-wheel-drive sectors.

These staff members represented Mapworld across thousands of individual customer conversations.

They found obscure maps.

They answered difficult questions.

They maintained complicated stock ranges.

They explained scale, coverage and format.

They helped turn incomplete requests into the right maps and charts.

Their collective work forms an important part of the shared Mapworld and Hema history.

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A Shared Commitment to Maps That Work

The connection between Mapworld and Hema has endured because the two businesses share a fundamental belief.

A good map must work.

It must:

• show the required area

• use an appropriate scale

• communicate clearly

• contain practical information

• remain readable

• suit the environment in which it will be used

A beautiful map that omits essential information is inadequate.

A detailed map that cannot be interpreted easily is equally inadequate.

Hema’s strength lies in making complex travel information practical.

Mapworld’s strength lies in matching the right product to the customer and supplying it in the most useful format.

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Final Thoughts

The story of Mapworld and Hema Maps is a story of publishing, retail, exploration, people and adaptation.

It began in 1983 when Henry and Margaret Boegheim started distributing and laminating maps and marine charts from their Brisbane home.

It grew into Hema Maps, one of Australia’s most respected publishers of touring and adventure mapping.

It also grew into Mapworld, a chain of specialist shops in Brisbane, Eight Mile Plains, Sydney, Crows Nest and Canberra.

The shops gave Hema’s diverse range a route to market that ordinary bookshops and newsagencies could never provide.

Their success depended not only on products and locations, but on the people working behind the counters.

Carter, Leigh, Sergio, Fernando, Will, Ivo, Larissa, Izzy, Sue, Matt, Marta, the second Matt, Liliana, Carina and Andrew all contributed to the specialist knowledge and customer service for which the east-coast Mapworld stores became known.

In Western Australia, Patrick O’Keeffe, Steve and Naomi built and maintained the specialist service of Perth Map Centre.

In 2005, the businesses entered separate but complementary paths.

Patrick and Christopher O’Keeffe acquired Mapworld.

Christopher managed the east-coast stores.

Patrick continued developing Perth Map Centre with Steve and Naomi.

Rob Boegheim concentrated on Hema’s cartography, fieldwork, four-wheel-drive products and emerging digital systems.

The Mapworld shops eventually evolved into a national online business.

Hema evolved from paper-map publishing into an integrated print and digital navigation company.

Yet the original relationship remains visible.

Mapworld continues to offer the full Hema range.

Hema remains one of the most important names in Mapworld’s catalogue.

Mapworld’s print-on-demand production now fulfils the future Henry Boegheim foresaw decades ago.

Mapworld extends its sincere thanks to:

• Henry Boegheim

• Margaret Boegheim

• Rob Boegheim

• Patrick O’Keeffe

• Carter Valle

• Leigh

• Sergio

• Fernando

• Will

• Ivo

• Larissa

• Izzy

• Sue

• Matt

• Marta

• the second Matt

• Liliana

• Carina

• Andrew

• Steve

• Naomi

• the Hema cartographers

• the Hema Map Patrol teams

• every other manager and staff member who contributed to the Mapworld shops and Perth Map Centre

• every customer who has supported specialist Australian mapping

Together, they helped create something of lasting national value.

Not simply a range of products.

Not simply a chain of shops.

But an Australian culture of mapping, travel and exploration that continues today.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded Hema Maps?

Hema Maps was founded in Brisbane in 1983 by Henry and Margaret Boegheim.

Where did the name Hema come from?

The name combines the first two letters of HEnry and MArgaret.

What did Hema originally do?

Hema originally distributed maps and marine charts and provided chart-laminating services.

Was Mapworld originally connected with Hema Maps?

Yes. Mapworld was developed as the specialist retail arm through which Hema could sell a much broader range of maps than ordinary bookshops and newsagencies were willing to stock.

Where were the Mapworld shops?

The network included operations in Brisbane and Eight Mile Plains, together with shops at 280 Pitt Street in Sydney, 136 Willoughby Road in Crows Nest and the Jolimont Centre on Northbourne Avenue in Canberra.

Who managed the Mapworld Sydney flagship?

The Pitt Street shop was managed for a period by Carter Valle.

Who worked at the Pitt Street Mapworld shop?

The Pitt Street team included Carter Valle, Leigh, Sergio, Fernando, Will, Ivo, Larissa, Izzy and Sue.

Who worked at Mapworld Crows Nest?

The Crows Nest team included Matt, Marta, Larissa, another staff member also named Matt, and Liliana.

Who worked at Mapworld Canberra?

The Canberra team included Carina, Andrew and Will.

Who worked at Perth Map Centre?

Patrick O’Keeffe operated Perth Map Centre with Steve and Naomi, helping customers with topographic maps, nautical charts, mining and pastoral mapping, touring products, wall maps and specialist geographic enquiries.

When did the O’Keeffe family purchase Mapworld?

Patrick and Christopher O’Keeffe purchased the Mapworld retail business from Henry and Margaret Boegheim in 2005.

Did the O’Keeffe family buy Hema Maps?

No. The 2005 purchase involved Mapworld, the specialist retail business. Hema Maps remained with the Boegheim family and continued to develop under Rob Boegheim.

What role did Christopher O’Keeffe take?

Christopher became Managing Director of the east-coast Mapworld shops.

What role did Patrick O’Keeffe take?

Patrick remained in Western Australia to operate Perth Map Centre with Steve and Naomi. The Perth operation later became central to Mapworld’s national online and print-on-demand model.

When did Hema begin making four-wheel-drive maps?

Hema’s move into specialist four-wheel-drive mapping followed Henry and Margaret’s major outback journeys beginning in 1989.

What is the Hema Map Patrol?

The Map Patrol consists of field teams that travel Australian roads and tracks to collect and verify geographic and touring information.

When did Hema begin using GPS for field mapping?

Hema began investing heavily in GPS-based field mapping in 1996.

When was the first Hema Navigator released?

The first Hema Navigator, the HN1, was released in 2008 after development began in 2007.

What is print-on-demand mapping?

Print-on-demand mapping allows a digital map to be produced when ordered, in the quantity, size and material required, rather than relying only on large preprinted production runs.

Does Mapworld still sell Hema Maps?

Yes. Mapworld remains a major specialist Hema supplier and offers maps, atlases, guides, wall maps and selected navigation products through its Hema Maps collection.

Written by Christopher O’Keeffe
Managing Director of Mapworld and specialist in maps, navigation and cartographic products.

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