VPRS 14129 Application and File Management Cards, Horsham Land District (Occupation Branch)

Application and file management cards replaced Registers of Applications created by the Occupation Branch in Melbourne in content and partly in function. Details given are the application number either as a single number or as the fraction where the denominator indicates the Section of the Act (the Land Acts of 1901, 1911, 1915 and 1928 were the main Acts) and the numerator is the file number, the name and address of the applicant, the area and location of the land (section, allotment, parish) and relevant dates. Other details are notations regarding file movements and management and the receipt and sending of correspondence. If a change was made in the Section of a Land Act under which a lease or a license to occupy had been issued, the new file number might be recorded on this card.From about 1901 there was a steady decline in new applications being made under the Land Acts. In mid-1907 a circular was sent to District Land Officers notifying them that from that time onwards, all applications regardless of Act and Section of the Act, were to be recorded in a single register kept at the District Land Office and allocated an annual single number. Once applications had been ruled upon by the Local Land Board, details of those which had been successful were to be entered in the register to be kept at the District Land Office for specific Sections of an Act and allocated a running number which became the file number.Successful applications had this card and a rent payment card made up at theOccupation Branch of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538). Details of active files which were initially registered in the volume registers of applications were gradually transferred onto the cards with an annotation being made on the registers either by the word 'Card' or a tick beside the entry. Unsuccessful applications, after 1907, did not have a card made up. These were listed at the Department and papers were filed there in case of appeal against the decision of the Local Land Board.The system of District Land Offices parallelled by similar 'District Offices' in the Occupation Branch continued, with a smaller number of physically separate offices outside Melbourne. Within the Occupation Branch itself, officers dealt with the business of a number of District Offices with the number of Divisions within the Branch fluctuating in number relative to the amount of business to be transacted, this in turn being affected by legislative enactments.Cards in this series relate primarily to agricultural and grazing licenses and leases and selection purchase leases under the 1911 Land Act. Others relate to Sections 121, 129 and 86 of the Land Act 1915.Sections 44 (Licensing) and 46 (Lease and Grant) of the Land Act 1898 divided lands into three classes for the purpose of the licensing or leasing of agricultural allotments. No more than 200 acres of first-class lands were to be licensed at the rent of one shilling per acre per annum; no more than three hundred and twenty acres of second-class land at the annual rental of ninepence per acre. Both types of land were to be licensed for no more than six years.In the 1898 Act, Sections 58 and 59 provided for the extension of the licensing and leasing provisions for agricultural allotments to grazing allotments. Sections 59 and 61 of the Land Act 1898 allowed for the issue of residential or non-residential licenses for grazing allotments on third-class land. A license to occupy could initially be issued for up to six years for 640 acres. If conditions relating to the provision of fencing and the destruction of vermin were met, a lease for 14 years could be obtained at a cost of sixpence per acre. Rent payments could be used to defray the cost of purchase at ten shillings per acre.Under the consolidated Land Act of 1901, agricultural allotments were dealt with under Sections 47 (licensing) and 49 (leasing) and grazing allotments by Sections 54 (licensing) and 56 (leasing).Section 6 of the Land Act 1911 brought these provisions to an end. As an alternative, the option of taking out a selection purchase lease was offered with a period of twenty years being offered to fulfil the payment conditions for either a residential selection purchase lease (Section 8) or a non-residential selection purchase lease (Section 13). Conditions and covenants of these leases were laid down in Section 11.Section 65 of the Land Act 1884 (later Section 103, Land Act 1901 and Section 86, Land Act 1915) provided for the annual licensing of the occupation of auriferous (gold bearing) lands. Areas licensed were to be of no more than 20 acres with only one license being allowed for each individual. There was to be no sale of these lands. This section was amended by Section 90 of the Land Act 1898 providing for the appraisal of these lands. If the value of the land was appraised to be more than the rent already paid on them, the subsequent rental was to be no more than two shillings and sixpence per annum with no annual license fee.Sections 93 and 91 of the Land Act 1884 (later Section 99, Land Act 1890, Section 145 of the Land Act 1901 and subsequently Section 129, Land Act 1915) provided for the licensing or leasing of Crown lands for a multitude of purposes such as rural businesses, the removal of raw materials and other purposes none of which were to be agricultural or grazing. Licenses were renewable annually at a fee to be set. Leases under the 1884 Act for these purposes were to be of no more than three acres at an annual rental of five pounds.Section 119, Land Act 1884 provided for the issuing of grazing licenses for Crown lands not otherwise held. This provision continued as Section 123, Land Act 1890, Section 187 of the Land Act 1901 and subsequently Section 121, Land Act 1915.Researchers should note that further research is required into the actual end date of this card recordkeeping system. Some evidence suggests that the card system continued into the 1970s, although some series may have ended previously. For some series of cards it is possible that these were the cards for files for which active life had ceased. It may also have been that all cards are included as details of all files were transferred to a subsequent system.