VPRS 629 Land Selection Files, Section 33, Land Act 1869

Section 33 of the Land Act 1869 made provision for those who had been lessees under the first subdivision of the second Part of the Amending Land Act of 1865. This subdivision of the 1865 Act repealed Sections 12 to 37 of the Land Act 1862 under which selectors could directly purchase half of an allotment and lease the other half making deferred payments of two shillings and sixpence per acre per annum for eight years. The selector had, within twelve months of the date of selection, to have fenced the selection, erected a dwelling upon it and cultivated one-tenth of the area. It had been found, within a few months, that little legitimate settlement followed.The Amending Land Act 1865, under Section 7, extended the time for purchase for those who had entitlements under the Land Act 1862. Section 12 set the principle that agricultural land was to be first acquired under lease with conditions that a payment of two shillings per acre was to be made for three years, that improvements to the value of twenty shillings per acre were to be made within two years of the commencement of the lease and that if these conditions had been met, the lessee could purchase the land for one pound per acre at the expiry of three years.Under Section 33 of the Land Act 1869, these leaseholders were given a choice, after they had obtained a certificate from the Board of Land and Works (VA 744) stating that the leaseholder had complied with the conditions with respect to improvements. The Board was prepared to issue certificates for all those who had substantially complied with the requirements. The leaseholder, three years after the commencement of the lease, could then immediately obtain a Crown grant on the payment of one pound per acre. The other option for the leaseholder was to surrender the existing lease for a new seven year lease for a payment of two shillings per acre per annum for seven years. At any time or at the completion of the seven years, a Crown grant could be obtained by paying the difference between the rent already paid and the sum of one pound per acre.Leaseholders forwarded an application to the Board stating whether they chose an immediate Crown grant or a new lease. This application also showed the amounts of rent already paid by the lessee under the Amending Land Act 1865. These applications were registered in roughly chronological order and given a sequential number which became the file number. This register was then indexed by name and allocated number. At the same time, the original lease was surrendered and filed with the application and the Board of Land and Works certification regarding improvements. For those who had chosen an immediate Crown grant arrangements were then made for the issue of the grant (see VPRS 11864 Register of Crown Grants).A separate Register was then created for those who had chosen to bring their leases under the provisions of Section 33 Land Act 1869 with details of the original selection of the land and the finalisation of the Crown grant. These details may be seen in VPRS 13117/P1 Register of Leases Brought Under the Provisions of Section 31 and Section 33, Land Act 1869. Leases also had to be approved by the Governor-in-Council. Once this approval had been obtained, the lease was registered in VPRS 11871/P1 Register of Leases granted Under Land Acts 1869, 1878, 1880.For the recording of the progressive payment of rents, Registers of Lessees were created. Initially, these were based on the location of the offices of the Receivers of Revenue (a departmental officer or another designated Crown officer such as a Clerk of Courts). Lessees would pay rent to the local Receiver of Revenue convenient to their location, returns of payments would be forwarded to the office of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey in Melbourne where they would be recorded in the appropriate register. With the formation of the Occupation Branch and the conduct of business according to the District Survey Offices established, these registers were then allocated to a specific District Survey Office within the Occupation Branch. Records within these registers may be for properties which, after 1874, were located in parishes which had been allocated to different District Survey Offices.Details provided in these Registers of Lessees include those of leases commencing prior to the Land Act 1869. The date of the lease is given as are the name of the lessee, the parish in which the land was located and the location by allotment of the land and its extent as well as the amount of rental already paid. Progressively entered were the details of rent paid in the years subsequent to the issue of the lease and summary details of any arrears of rent, transfers of the lease and the eventual purchase of the land during the course of the lease or at its expiration.