VPRS 14145 Register of Applications, All Districts, Land Act 1862

The Land Act 1862 amended and extended the conditions for the occupation and acquisition of land set out in the Land Act 1860 (Nicholson Act). Under this new Act, there were three sections which allowed for the leasing and eventual purchase of the Crown lands.Applications for land under this Act were registered in this Register of Applications although applications were made originally at local offices of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538). Details given are the number of the application, the date and the date of its registration, the name of the applicant, the locality and area of the land, the decision made with respect to the application, the name of the applicants solicitors and notes regarding file actions and correspondence references. Further details of these applications may be able to be found in the Register of Lessees for the relevant district.Under the Land Act 1862, land was surveyed and then offered as allotments divided into two equal subdivisions at the price of one pound per acre. Selectors could purchase both subdivisions (A and B) or could purchase one subdivision and lease the other one leading to eventual purchase. Section 22 of the Act set out the terms of this lease which was to be for eight years with a yearly rent of two shillings and sixpence per acre. At any time in this period or at the end of it, the subdivision could be purchased by the payment of the difference (if any) between the rent paid and the price of one pound per acre.Applications were to be made in the form set down in the Schedules to the Act in person at a land office and be accompanied by the purchase price of the whole lot or the purchase price for half and one years rent in advance for the other half. Applications were to be entered into a register, which was to be open to public inspection, by the land officer . The priority of the order of applications was to be determined by lot. Any refusal of an application was to be notified within thirty days in the Government Gazette with the reasons for refusal or disallowance being given.Section 33 of the Land Act 1862 provided that those who had been occupying Goldfields and Country lands under a Residence and Cultivation License, for which conditions were set out in the Government Gazettes of 16th May and 28th August 1861, now had the option of selecting this land within twelve months of the commencement of the Act if the conditions of the license had been fulfilled. For this option to be fulfilled, the consent of the Board of Land and Works had to be obtained. This occupation was to be under the same terms as for a selector of land in the declared agricultural areas, with money paid as a license fee being able to be credited as part of the purchase money.In the same way, Section 37 of the Land Act 1862 provided for those who were already the lessees of the second subdivision of an allotment under the Land Act 1860. These persons could surrender their existing leases within 12 months of the passing of the Act and receive a new lease for eight years under the same terms and conditions as the previous lease and with the same right of pre-emption.This series was previously registered as part of Unit 278 of Vprs 458 / P Applications Registers, Land Act Unknown.