VPRS 81 Land Grants for Special Purposes

This series contains the documents or draft documents granting land for special purposes.Many of the early grants are to individuals or groups acting as trustees for churches with the land being granted for a church or a school or a clergyman's residence or a denominational burial ground. Other grants were for a cattle market (1846) and general market in Melbourne, for a Melbourne Town Hall (1849) and for a 10 year lease for a Public Race Course in the Parish of Doutta Galla in 1850. Other grants, especially in the P1 consignment, are to municipalities for municipal buildings and services such as abattoirs, markets and cemeteries and the the Board of Education for school sites.Details given on the outside of the grant document might be the date of the grant, the parish or town or city, the area of land in acres, roods and perches, the names of the trustees and the purpose of the grant. The grant itself gives the sources of authority for the grant and details of its purposes, the terms and conditions attached to the grant including any rent payments and the registration of the grant.This registration of early grants was with the Colonial Secretary (New South Wales), the Surveyor-General of New South Wales and the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Port Phillip District for grants in the P consignment.Grants were registered in VPRS 14146 Register of Grants for Special Purposes (Grants Without Purchase). For grants in this series, Unit 1 would be especially useful. Many of the grants, particularly for Common Schools, in the P1 consignment have marked on them the page upon which the entry occurs in the register and the location of the copy of the grant in VPRS 14148 Special Deeds Books.The P1 consignment was previously registered as VPRS 851/P Land Grants for Special Purposes. The former title of VPRS 81/P was Deeds for Special Purposes Land Grants.