VPRS 14433 Inspector's Report Books, Acquisition of Land, Closer Settlement Acts and Discharged Soldiers Settlement Acts

The closer settlement provisions of Part III of the 1898 Land Act allowed the Board of Land and Works to allocate existing Crown lands for settlement or to purchase lands from private individuals for the purposes of settlement. These provisions continued in the Closer Settlement Act 1904 and subsequent acts and were reinforced and reiterated in the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Acts from 1917 (see Section 23). The Acts specified the conditions under which the Closer Settlement Board (previously known as the Lands Purchase and Management Board) might select land and pay for it as well as the conditions required for evaluating the suitability of the land for that purpose.One of the important provisions was that a public servant might enter upon private land to inspect it and report upon its suitability for the purpose. Section 18 of the Closer Settlement Act 1904 (Section 25 in the 1915 Act) set out the details required including a valuation of the land and the improvements upon it. The Acts then went on to set out the procedures for arriving at a valuation of the land with which the Minister would agree and the procedures for the acquisition of the land by either agreement or by compulsory process.This series consists of copies of the signed and dated reports made by inspectors sent to report upon, evaluate and make recommendations upon land presented or recommended for purchase for closer and / or soldier settlement. Some reports are with respect to applications made for advances to assist in the process of settlement.