VPRS 14142 Register of Lessees, Portland, Section 20 Land Act 1869 as amended by Land Act 1878 (Portland District Office)

Records of rent payments were kept in Registers of Lessees which gave the date of the lease, the name of the lessee, the location (parish, section and allotment) and the extent of the land. Financial details included the details of rent instalments paid. In the column for remarks are notations regarding such matters as forfeiture, revocation and transfers of leases and any relevant references to correspondence, later purchase of the land or entries in the Government Gazette regarding Ministerial approval of the lease and Gazette notices for renewal. This record was maintained by a local land officer or the local Receiver of Revenue and Paymaster.The Land Act 1868 was passed to amend Sections 19 and 20 of the Land Act 1869. In general, terms for licences to occupy and leases were extended with a consequential reduction in the amount of rent due annually.