VPRS 5012 Licensing Court Club Register

The Licensing Act 1906 introduced extensive requirements for the registration of clubs. Applications for registration were to be made to the clerk of the Licensing Court for the Licensing District in which the club premises were located. Applications were to be accompanied by copies of the club's rules and names and addresses of bon fide members and notices of intention to seek registration were to be published in newspapers circulating within the Licensing District. If no objections were received and the Licensing Inspector gave a satisfactory report, the clerk of the Licensing Court, in the name of the Court, could grant the registration and issue a certificate of registration. If objections were received, then the Court would inquire into and deal with the application. The certificate allowed liquor to be sold and consumed on the club's premises in accordance with conditions specific to registered clubs as well as the general provisions for licensed premises as specified in the Act. The sale or supply of liquor in unregistered clubs was illegal and those found guilty were subject to fines or imprisonment.Club certificates remained current until the 31st of December in the year of issue. Certificates were then renewable by essentially the same process as for initial registration.Provisions for club registration remained essentially unchanged until 1968 when the Liquor Control Act 1968 came into operation. That Act introduced club licences. Similar to the certificates of registration, club licences remained current to the 31st of December in the year of issue and were renewable annually or varied by application. The Act also provided that unlicensed clubs could apply for permits to allow liquor to be consumed, possessed or controlled on the club's premises on specified particular occasions.As part of the inspection and approval process, clerks of licensing courts were required to keep a book called the Club Register in which were to be recorded the particulars of each application for grant or renewal of club registration. The format of that book was prescribed in the rules and regulations under the 1906 Act (see Victorian Government Gazette No. 25, 22 February 1907, pages 1240-57).Club Registers recorded the number of the application, date of application, name of applicant, nature of application, name of club, situation of premises, purpose of club, number of members, objections to registration, result of application, authority responsible for approval or refusal, date of decision, percentage fees, and remarks. Club Registers are not a signed record of court proceedings.