VPRS 439 Land Selection Files, by Land District, Section 49 Land Act 1869

The introduction of the Land Act 1869 saw all Crown land not previously occupied in Victoria opened up for selection. The aim of the legislation was to encourage settlement on lands that would be most advantageous to the colony.Section 49 of the Land Act 1869 replaced Section 42 of the Amending Land Act 1865 as licensees under that provision were now able, under Section 31 of the 1869 Act to purchase the land they had occupied under license. Under the original Section 49 selectors could apply for a licence to occupy and cultivate auriferous (gold bearing) land. The licence was for one year and the size of the land occupied was not to exceed 20 acres. The licence was renewable each year with the payment of a licence fee. A selector could not hold more than one licence.In 1880, Section 4 of the Land Acts Amendment Act gave holders of licenses under Section 49 the exclusive right to buy their holdings. The price was to be determined by the Board of Land and Works.When an application to select Crown land was received by the Department it would be registered in a register of applications. Prior to 1874 and the establishment of the Occupation Branch all applications made under section 49 of the Land Act 1869 were recorded in the same series of registers irrespective of location as in VPRS 13128 Registers of Applications, Section 49 Land Act 1869.Separate registers of applications were usually created for each section of the Land Act under which individuals could apply to select land. For example, all applications received under section 49 of the Land Act 1869 were recorded in the same register.In an attempt to try and rationalise the way the Department managed Crown land, the Occupation Branch was established in 1874 under the influence of H Byron Moore, Assistant Surveyor General. The Occupation Branch was to deal with all matters relating to the occupation of Crown land.The State was divided into fifteen Land Districts, these being Ararat, Ballarat, Beechworth, Benalla, Castlemaine and Dunolly, Echuca, Geelong Warrnambool and Camperdown, Hamilton, Horsham, Melbourne, Sale and Bairnsdale, Sandhurst (Bendigo), Seymour and St Arnaud. Each District was represented at the Occupation Branch in Melbourne by a 'District Land Office'.Each District Land Office consisted of a double table or desk at which both a clerk and draughtsman sat. Everything in the way of files, maps and plans were at convenient reach. The same officers dealt with the sale of Crown land from its 'inception to its disposition'. The District Offices' staff consisted essentially of a clerical officer and a draughtsman who dealt solely with that Land District. It was their business to know the District and to deal with all land business related to it.By 1877 each District Land Office, consisted of a District Officer, a rental clerk, a draughtsman and several general clerks.After the establishment of the Occupation Branch in 1874 and the division of the State into Land Districts, applications were registered by District. Each 'District Land Office' created and maintained their own series of registers of applications. Any new applications received by the Department after 1874 were registered in separate District registers with applications numbers that were allocated from the number one onwards. The same application number could be allocated for selections in different Districts. For example the application number 1021/49 could exist in both the Ballarat and Bendigo Land Districts It is the District name plus the accompanying file number that is the unique identifier.The District Surveyor would enter into the register of applications the application number, the date the application was received, the applicants' name, occupation and parish, the allotment number and size (in acres, roods and perches) applied for. The application was then forwarded to the appropriate District Land Office at the Occupation Branch in Melbourne. It was then entered in a duplicate register of applications there against the same application number. The District Surveyor also forwarded a tracing of the allotment applied for.The position of the allotment applied for was immediately charted on a working plan in pencil. The tracing was then sent to the Department of Mines and Water Supply (VA 2720) for a report on any mining objections. If there were no mining objections the application would be heard before a Local Land Board. Local Land Boards were made up of representatives from the local community and the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538). The Boards would hear from all applicants for an allotment and would decide who was to be granted the licence or lease. The schedule documenting the decisions of the Local Land Board was forwarded to the appropriate District Land Office at the Occupation Branch and the decision was entered into the register of applicationsThe Board of Land and Works (VA 744), the statutory authority for the management of Crown land would give final approval for land selection, acting on the recommendation of the Local Land Board. The decision of the Board of Lands and Works (VA 744) was then recorded in the register of applications. The registers also record the date of the licence issue and any subsequent action in relation to that file. The selectors granted each allotment would then be recorded on the working plan by the District Land Office draughtsman at the Occupation Branch. The tracing of the allotment was then sent to the Crown Land Bailiff responsible for that Land District.After the creation of the Occupation Branch, applications made under the Land Act 1869 that had been registered prior to 1874 were copied to District Indexes that were separate from registers created for new applications received. These District Indexes that recorded pre 1874 applications are arranged alphabetically but the application numbers are not consecutive.The new registers of applications were arranged by Land District and by section of Land Act applications were received under. For example, all applications received under section 49 of the Land Act 1869 for the Ballarat Land District were recorded in the same series of registers. Sections of an Act that were less common were often recorded in the one District register.Registers of applications control selection and occupation files. If an application to select Crown land was successful, the application number would become the file number. For example if an application to select under section 49 of the Land Act 1869 was registered as application number 324 then the selection or occupation file number would be 324/49.The application number remained the selection file number for a particular piece of land if all terms and conditions were met and the selection resulted in a Crown Grant. However, often the original selector did not end up owning the land. Many selectors forfeited or abandoned their licence. If this were the case then the land was re-opened up for selection. Any new applicants were registered in a register of applications under a new application number. The original applicants file would be attached to the new selectors file. The new file number was annotated in the register against the original selectors' entry.Even if the same selector applied for a licence on land he had previously forfeited a new application number would be allocated and the file would have a new selection file number.The files in this series were created as part of this recordkeeping system after the establishment of the Occupation Branch with the procedures as outlined above. Typically, files contain a Certificate of Registration as an applicant, the actual detailed application form and may contain the details of the location of the land and a plan of it as well as the District Surveyor's report. The applicant was issued with a Goldfields Residence and Cultivation License once again showing a plan of the land and the amount of rent payable per annum. The file may contain correspondence regarding the application or the payment of rent. Holders of these licenses became able to purchase the land they were occupying under Section 4 of the Land Acts Amendment Act 1880. File may contain an application for such a purchase which is annotated with the reports of surveyors, draftsmen and mining reports. Upon purchase credit was allowed for the value of rent paid and the value of improvements made to the land. Details may be found of the calculation of the actual payment made and the preparation and issue of the Crown grant.