The additions to ACTmapi preserve the historical documents and make them readily accessible to the public with a click of a mouse.

Minister for Environment and Heritage Mick Gentleman said the scanned and processed images were overlaid on aerial photography of the ACT enabling people to directly compare land use and tenure.

"The maps date back to the 1800s and show the sheer size of land holdings of the time, which often consisted of a number of land portions," he said.

"A group of portions made up a locality called a parish. The portion plans show specific details about the layout of buildings and environmental features on the parcels."

The maps reveal where settlements and rural pastoral boundaries fell, as well as the location of cottages and huts and where homesteads have been lost.

Mr Gentleman said users would recognise names of many of the early landholders such as Campbell, Crace, Weetangera and Weston were now familiar Canberra suburbs.

"Where Gungahlin and Goorooyaroo nature reserve stand today, there used to be the parish of Goorooyaroo, where Mulligans Flat School existed and Old Coach Road went through to Bungendore," Minister Gentleman said.

"The 1915-1930 map series even shows a cricket pitch which is now under Lake Burley Griffin."

The Minister hoped the addition of the historical maps would complement the existing web resource and support decision making by planners, land managers, researcher and members of the community.

Check out the new tool at www.actmapi.act.gov.au