VPRS 7159 Mining Registrar's Register Of Tenements, Ararat Mining Division

This series is a Register of Tenements as maintained by the Mining Registrar of the Ararat Mining Division within the Ararat and Stawell Mining District. The exact meaning of the term tenement is unclear but it is probable it has the same meaning as the word claim which is the word used in various Mining acts. Further research will be required to confirm this. It is clear that this series does not contain every volume that was created. An annotation inside the front cover of the first volume in this series suggests that it is volume no 4, meaning that three previous volumes, possibly extending back to the formation of the district in 1858, and containing entries nos 1 - 7008,  were created and have not yet been located.  This is further supported by the numbering of entire in these volumes. Every claim in these registers was allocated a progressive sequential number and the first number in this first volume currently held is no 7009. It is possible the volumes in question were either destroyed in the years prior to the creation of PROV in 1973 or are held in a location other than PROV or the current government agency. Mining Registrars The Gold Fields Laws Amendment Act 1860 (24 Vic.,No.115) empowered the Governor-in-Council to appoint Mining Registrars in the Mining Districts to carry out duties prescribed in the mining by-laws for their district. Mining Registrars were primarily concerned with claims or privileges held under miners rights. Responsibilities included the registration and transfer of various types of claims specified in the mining by-laws. Mining Registrars were also responsible for preparing reports and statistics showing the progress of mining within their district. Mining Registrars Register of Claims Under the mining by-laws the holder of a miners right was entitled to take up various claims. Each type of claim specified the nature of the mining activity which could be undertaken. The types of claims included: - prospecting claims (along a reef) - alluvial claims (for shallow sinking) - tunnelling claim - sluicing and puddling claims - water right or water race claim - site for machinery - site for a dam, and - site for residence (to 1936). Registers of Claims may be specific to a particular type of claim (eg. Register of Water Races, Register of Residence Areas) or may include a mixture of claims. In circumstances where claims were taken up by partnerships the Register of Claims will usually include a record of the agreed percentage of shares of each of the partners. A Register of Claims will often include the : - number and date of claim - name of holder or owner - number of Miners Right and date of Miners Right - particulars of the claim - locality - details of transfers or amalgamations of claims. Revision of documentation This series was originally identified and documented a service provider. An evaluation of the supplied documentation during 2025 resulted in minor changes to the series title, attribution of this series to the Ararat and Stawell Mining District ad the addition of this series description.