VPRS 13940 Register of Applications, Village Settlements, Settlement on Lands Act 1893

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.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. (The Rent Rolls held by PROV as VPRS 13941 document the payment of the nominal rent during this three year period.) 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. Once a lease was granted, there is a reference to the entry in the lease register (see VPRS 11874/P1 Register of Leases Granted Under Sections 5, 20 and 26 of the Settlement on Lands Act and VPRS 11875/P1 Register of Leases Including Closer Settlement and Soldier Settlement.)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.Applications were recorded in the register of applications (see VPRS 13940 / P1 with the allocation of an application number which became the file number. Files may be able to be found mainly in VPRS 5357/P Land Selection and Correspondence Files. The file denominator would be a 5.This series was previously registered as Units 51, 52, 36, 47, 233 and 14 of VPRS 458/P Applications Registers, Land Act Unknown.

1893年《土地定居法》（Settlement on Lands Act 1893）的出台旨在通过设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“乡村社区定居模式”便是此类模式之一。总督会同行政局可公告划定专用土地，随后将其划分为1至20英亩不等的分配地块。根据本法第5条（1901年《土地法》第318条）规定，乡村社区定居地块的占用许可可获批三年，仅收取象征性租金。（维多利亚州公共档案办公室（Public Record Office Victoria, PROV）所藏VPRS 13941号租金登记册，完整记录了该三年周期内的象征性租金缴纳情况。）三年期满后，若满足监管条例设定的特定条件，承租人可申请最长期限为二十年的土地租约。单块地块的售价不得低于每英亩1英镑，且需以40次半年期分期付款的方式完成支付。若要在租约期满后获得王室土地授予的完整所有权，承租人须付清全部购地款项、偿还所有先期垫付款项以及土地勘测成本。此外，承租人及其家属须在该土地上居住，并需在规定时限内将指定比例的地块开垦为可耕地。租约获批后，相关登记信息可查阅对应租约登记册（详见VPRS 11874/P1《依据1893年土地定居法第5、20、26条获批的租约登记册》与VPRS 11875/P1《包含紧密定居与士兵定居的租约登记册》）。很快人们便意识到，土地与工程委员会划定的土地并非全部适配乡村定居需求，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条做出补充规定，允许土地持有人额外购置土地，使其原有持有地块的总价值达到200英镑。相关申请信息会被记录于申请登记册中（详见VPRS 13940/P1，其中分配的申请编号将作为档案编号）。此类档案主要可在VPRS 5357/P《土地选择与通信档案》中检索，档案编号后缀为“5”。该档案系列此前曾以VPRS 458/P《未知土地法适用申请登记册》的第51、52、36、47、233及14号单元完成备案登记。