VPRS 13945 Register of Sites Acquired by Victoria for Postal, Defence and Customs Prior to Federation and Transferred to the Commonwealth

This volume provides a summary of the sites to be transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia by the Government of Victoria. It is believed to have been completed in the Office of the Government Valuer (part of the Department of Public Works). It was handed to the Secretary for lands in 1943 by F C Ridoutt who had been part of the Office of the Government valuer and later was employed by the Surveyor-General.In alphabetical sections, a list is given of properties giving details of the locality, the name of the reserve, the name of the person from whom a property had originally been purchased, the details of the parish, allotment and section, details of the volume and folio of the certificate of title and other details of dates.In each section, the text of the title transfer and land description has been transcribed. This may be accompanied by a small plan of the site and marginal annotations regarding checks of the actual title deed, the location of the land, the function it was used for and the original purchase price.Under the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia 1901 a number of functions passed from the individual former colonies to the Commonwealth of Australia. The most obvious of these functions were those relating to defence and the military forces, posts and telegraphs, customs and navigation including lighthouses along the coast. As part of this, property used by the states for the exercise of these functions was similarly transferred to the Commonwealth.Section 85 of the Constitution provided for these transfers of property stating that when a function was transferred the property used exclusively in connexion with this department, shall become vested in the Commonwealth . Further, property not used exclusively by the department could also be acquired. The Section further provided that valuations of property so acquired should be made with the view of compensating the State for its loss.Other property for the exercise of Commonwealth functions could also be acquired from the States under the Lands Acquisition Act 1906 and its subsequent amendments. This Act also provided for the leasing of land to the Commonwealth as well as the sale. The Act asserted the State's right to compensation and provided for the assessment of this, the means of payment and for the resolution of any disputes.For many properties legal title did not pass from the State to the Commonwealth until the early 1930s although the Commonwealth had acquired the properties at the time it assumed responsibility for the provision of related services. The formal transfer of title for many properties occurred subsequent to the 1927 Commonwealth / States Financial Agreement enacted in Victoria as the Commonwealth and States Financial Agreement Act 1927 (No 3554) with the First Schedule embodying the Agreement. Under this Agreement the Commonwealth assumed all liability for the public debt of the States, equivalent to the value of the properties at 5% interest in exchange for freehold title to the properties.