from mapscript import mapObj,layerObj wkt = '''GEOGCS["GCS_Anna_1_1965",DATUM["Anna_1_1965",SPHEROID["Australian",6378160,298.25]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0],UNIT["Degree",0.017453292519943295],AUTHORITY["EPSG","37231"]]''' m = mapObj('') m.setWKTProjection(wkt) lyr = layerObj(m) lyr.setWKTProjection(wkt)