VPRS 1298 Rent Roll, Conditional Purchase Leases Village Settlements Land Act 1901

The Settlement on Lands Act 1893 was passed with a view to providing an outlet for the unemployed labour of Victoria through the establishment of three main types of rural settlement. Village Communities was one of these three.The Governor in Council could proclaim land for this purpose which could be then divided into allotments of between one and twenty acres. Under Section 5 of the Act (Section 318 of the Land Act 1901), a permit to occupy a village community allotment could be granted for three years at a nominal rental. After that time a lease for up to twenty years could be applied for if certain conditions, as set by regulations, had been met. The price of an allotment was to be no less than one pound per acre and was to be paid in forty half yearly instalments. For a Crown grant to be obtained at the end of the period, the lessee had to pay this sum, repay any advances made and the cost of the survey of the land. As well, the lessee or his family was to reside on the land with certain proportions to have been brought into cultivation within specified time periods.It was recognised relatively soon that not all the land allocated by the Board of Land and Works was suitable for village settlements and that 20 acres was an inadequate area for a settler to make a living. As a consequence, provision was made in Sections 344 to 346 of the Land Act 1901 for landholders to acquire more land to, with the original holding, the value of two hundred pounds. This land was dealt with as a conditional purchase lease. Details in the rent roll contain the name of the owner and the file number, details of the location and extent of the land, details of payments of rent, of compulsory fees and of the repayments of advances to pay for improvements and loans and details of any transfers or cancellation of the lease.

1893年《土地定居法》（The Settlement on Lands Act 1893）的出台初衷，是通过建立三类核心乡村定居模式，为维多利亚州的失业劳动力提供就业渠道。其中村庄社区定居模式（Village Communities）便是这三类模式之一。总督会同行政局（Governor in Council）可公告划定专项土地，再将其划分为1至20英亩的地块。根据本法第5条（对应1901年《土地法》第318条），可向村庄社区地块的占用者授予为期三年的许可，租金为象征性低价。三年期满后，若满足监管规则设定的特定条件，承租人可申请最长20年的土地租赁权。单块地块的售价不得低于每英亩1英镑，且需分40次半年期分期付款结清。若要在租赁期末取得皇室土地授予（Crown grant），承租人须付清全部购地款项、偿还所有预支资金及土地勘测成本。此外，承租人或其家属须在该土地上居住，并须在规定时限内将指定比例的土地投入耕作。不久后，人们便意识到，土地与工程委员会（Board of Land and Works）划拨的土地并非全部适合开展村庄定居项目，且20英亩的地块面积不足以支撑定居者维持生计。为此，1901年《土地法》第344至346条增设了相关条款，允许土地持有人收购额外土地，使其原有地块与新增土地的总价值达到200英镑，此类土地将按照附条件购买租赁模式进行处置。租金登记簿所载详情包括：所有者姓名与档案编号、土地位置与范围信息、租金缴纳记录、强制规费缴纳情况、用于支付土地改良与贷款的预支款项偿还记录，以及租赁权的任何转让或注销记录。