VPRS 13267 Register of Lessees, Hamilton, Section 7 Amending Land Act 1865

Under Section 7 of the Amending Land Act 1865, persons who had already taken leases under the Land Act 1862 under Sections 23 and 24 (agricultural lands) and Sections 33 and 34 (lands occupied under Residence and Cultivation Licences), where the transactions were incomplete or the term of the lease had not expired were allowed, under the Amending Land Act, an extension of time of twelve months to apply to the Board of Land and Works for the exercise of their right of selection or purchase.Purchasers, who had paid more than the minimum upset price of one pound per acre under the limited auction system of the Land Act 1860 were now able to lease an equivalent amount of land for eight years at a rental of two shillings and sixpence per acre provided that 320 acres was not exceeded. The Board was to issue certificates authorising the holders to select lands to be held under lease which concession the Amending Land Act 1865 extended for three months. Those persons who waived their right of selection were to be credited with the equivalent of four shillings per acre towards the purchase of Crown lands at any auction sale of Crown lands.For the recording of the progressive payment of rents, Registers of Lessees were created and maintained by the officials in Melbourne responsible for the records relating to these sections of the Act. Initially, these were based on the location of the offices of the Receivers of Revenue (a departmental officer or another designated Crown officer such as a Clerk of Courts). Lessees would pay rent to the local Receiver of Revenue convenient to their location, returns of payments would be forwarded to the office of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey in Melbourne where they would be recorded in the appropriate register. With the formation of the Occupation Branch and the conduct of business according to the District Offices established, these registers were then allocated to a specific District Office within the Occupation Branch. Records within these registers may be for properties which, after 1874, were located in parishes which had been allocated to different District Offices.The Register of Lessees recorded the date of the lease or its reference number, the county and parish, the extent of the land being the allotment and section and area and for each year, the number of the report (regarding observance of the conditions of the lease) and the amount of rent to be paid in half-yearly instalments. A remarks column contains notations regarding the subsequent purchase of the land, the transfer to another lessee or to a section of the Land Act 1869 (usually Section 33) or any cancellation, transfer or revocation of the lease. Other Registers also contain notations regarding the location of the Land Office where the land had been originally selected or the Act and Section under which it had been originally leased. These notations are often accompanied by a correspondence number or a reference to an entry in the Government Gazette.VPRS 13267/P1 was previously registered as Unit 12 of VPRS 1295/P Leases Book.