VPRS 1479 Court of Petty Sessions Maintenance and Adoption of Children Registers, Chiltern

Origin of this Series The original transfer of this series contained a variety of court records attributed to Chiltern Courts (VA 3068). In 1993 additional records of Chiltern Courts were transferred into archival custody. At that time some records were removed from the original transfer and placed into new series. Any records left over after that process occurred were re-listed and reprocessed into the P0000 consignment of this series. This series now consists of two registers: a maintenance register and an adoption register. Maintenance for Deserted or Destitute Wives and Children The Maintenance Act 1928 (Vic) and previous Marriages Acts established provisions for maintenance support to be provided by husbands who had left their wives or children without means of support. Courts of Petty Sessions were empowered to hear complaints regarding desertion and to set levels and enforce the payment of maintenance. Although the Maintenance Act 1965 (Vic) is still in force in Victoria, the Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 (Commonwealth) also has provision for the granting of maintenance and most orders are now made under this Act. A different recordkeeping system applies to maintenance records under the Family Law Act. Maintenance Registers Successive Justices' Acts and, more recently, the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 (Vic) have required the clerk or registrar of the court to make and keep a register of all convictions, orders, and other proceedings of the court. This register is the authoritative record of the court. Most courts maintained a separate sequence of registers for maintenance matters, although the registers were in the same format as all other petty sessions court registers. At most courts, Maintenance Registers were used to record three types of maintenance matters: applications for the court to set a level of maintenance, applications for the court to vary the level of maintenance, and enforcement applications, that is, where maintenance orders had been breached, maintenance recipients could seek a court order for payments to be made. Failure to comply resulted in the imprisonment of the defendant. The Registers give details of: The names of the complainant (usually the wife) The defendant (usually the husband) The nature of the matter before the court (being an application for maintenance on the grounds of unlawful desertion, an application to vary maintenance or an application to recover maintenance arrears) The court's decision Each double page records information about maintenance payments and court proceedings relating to a single child whose name is written at the top of the left-hand page. Information recorded includes the name of the parent against whom the maintenance order was issued, amounts of payments and references to court proceedings. The register is a record of payments and amounts due and is not a certified record of court proceedings. Adoption in Victoria 1929 – 1958 The adoption of children was first regulated by legislation with the commencement of the Adoption of Children Act 1928 (Vic). This Act established adoption as a legal transfer of custody and parental responsibility and gave responsibility for making adoption orders to the courts. Prior to this time, adoptions were informal arrangements often made by private infants’ homes. Under the Act, an adoption application could be heard by the Supreme Court (VA 2549), County Court (VA 686), or Court of Petty Sessions. The choice of court depended upon the circumstances of the case and the wishes of the parties. Adoption cases could be heard at the Court of Petty Sessions closest to where either the applicant(s) or the child resided. The Court could grant an adoption order if several parties gave their written consent to the adoption, namely the child’s natural parent(s) or guardian(s); the person having custody of the child; any person liable to contribute to the support of the child; or where the applicant was married, the applicant’s spouse. If the consent of any of these persons could not be obtained in writing, a higher court had to be used. Should the applicant(s) (i.e., the prospective adoptive parent(s)) choose, the County Court could grant an adoption order in any circumstance. The Supreme Court could grant an adoption order in any circumstance. Adoption in Victoria 1958 - present The passing of the Adoption of Children Act 1958 (Vic) removed the jurisdiction of the Court of Petty Sessions to grant adoption orders. Since that time the County and Supreme Courts have had the power to grant adoption orders, although in practice most have been granted by the County Court. Cases involving interstate and international adoptions are generally handled by the Supreme Court. With the changes brought about by the Adoption of Children Act 1984 (Vic), the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) (VA 983) obtained the original court records, wherever possible, from the Courts to enable them to obtain sufficient information to prepare "birth certificates" containing more information for adopted persons. All records in custody of the courts as of 1 January 1989 therefore came under the management and control of BDM. BDM also provides adoption information to Adoption Information Services from these records. Any records created after that date are still the responsibility of the respective Court as BDM are only able to request a memorandum of the adoption order, rather than the complete file.  Contents Court districts commonly maintained a specific adoption register for cases held at Court of Petty Sessions, County Court, and Supreme Court respectively. However, registers were often shared between court districts or levels of court, particularly in remote regional areas. Between 1929 and 1958, Court of Petty Sessions and County Court cases were sometimes registered using the same system, likewise County Court and Supreme Court cases were also occasionally registered in sequence. Sometimes, a single volume was used or repurposed to register cases from different recordkeeping systems or case file sequences.  Adoption registers generally contain the following details: Case number Date of application Names, ages, and occupations of couples applying Name, sex, and age of child Names of other respondents (usually mother or both parents, or guardian) Minute of decision and remarks Cases were authenticated in the registers by the Stipendiary Magistrate or Police Magistrate for cases heard at the Court of Petty Sessions, or the presiding judge for cases heard at the County Court and Supreme Court. Adopted Children Register Under section 17 (1) of the Adoption of Children Act 1928 and the subsequent adoption acts, the Government Statist was required to establish and maintain an Adopted Children Register (VPRS 11683) in which entries were made as directed by adoption orders (VPRS 11682). All courts were required to inform the Office of the Government Statist and Actuary (VA 989) of adoption orders granted from 1929 to 1983, then BDM from 1983 onwards. Researchers should note that the Adopted Children Registration Number given in the central register does not correspond to the case file number assigned by the court.