In late 1916, Warrant Officer Class 1 Hector E McMurtrie was enlisted into the Corps as a draughtsman for duty with the survey staff (not Australian Survey Corps) working on land title surveys for the military administration by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force in the New Guinea area. In 1919 he died from a service related illness, and is commemorated on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour. He was the first Australian Survey Corps member to die in war.