VPRS 1323 Register of Lessees, Ballarat, Sections 19 and 31 Land Act 1869 (Occupation Branch)

Under section 19 of the Land Act 1869 selectors could apply for a three-year licence to occupy Crown land. The rent was set at two shillings per acre and a maximum of 320 acres per selector was allowed. On application, a deposit of half a year's rent was paid. If the application were refused, the deposit was refunded. Section 20 of the Act placed conditions on the three-year licence with selectors required to improve their allotment by the erection of fencing and a dwelling, cultivation of their land and the destruction of vermin and noxious weeds. After the licence term had expired, the selector was eligible to apply for a seven-year lease or a Crown Grant to purchase their allotment. Grants or leases were only approved if improvement conditions had been met. If a selector opted for a seven-year lease, the yearly rent was used to pay off the purchase price of the land.The Land Act of 1869, Section 31 gave a pre-emptive right of purchase to holders of occupation licenses under Section 42 of the Amending Land Act 1865 (regulating the occupation of auriferous lands). Various conditions had to be met for this right to be exercised. The licensee had to have occupied the land for at least two and a half years, have made improvements to the land and no objection to the alienation of the land was made on the grounds that it was auriferous (gold-bearing) or other grounds of a public nature. License fees already paid were to be credited against the purchase price with the Board of Land and Works to grant the licensee a certificate specifying the amount of land and survey fees paid by him during the period of occupation. The licensee also had the option of taking a lease on the land under the same conditions or paying the purchase price in ten equal instalments.Records of rent payments were kept in Registers of Lessees which gave the date of the lease, the name of the lessee, the location and the extent of the land. Financial details included were the amount previously paid in licenses fees and the half-yearly instalments paid. In the column for remarks are notations regarding such matters as forfeiture, revocation and transfers of leases, where the lease was included with another, purchase of the land and any relevant references to correspondence or entries in the Government Gazette.Units 2 and 3 of VPRS 1323/P were reserialised in 2003 as VPRS 13274/P1, unit 1 and VPRS 13275/P1, unit 1 respectively.