VPRS 14144 Rent Rolls, Pastoral Runs

The Order in Council 1847 divided New South Wales, which included the Port Phillip District into Unsettled, Intermediate and Settled Districts for the purpose of pastoral occupation. Leases for up to fourteen years could be obtained in the Unsettled Districts, for up to eight years in the Intermediate Districts and for one year in the Settled Districts. Rents were to be proportional to the carrying capacity of the land with ten pounds per annum being the minimum.The Land Act 1862 modified these conditions , converting all licenses to yearly ones until 1870. Rents were to continue to be calculated on the basis of the carrying capacity of the land with the occupier having rights of appeal against the determination by the assessors of the Board of Land and Works. New runs were made available for lease for no more than 14 years with the rights to be bid upon at auction. Rents were to be payable in half yearly instalments in June and December. In general terms, these provisions were confirmed by the Land Act 1869.Circulars were sent notifying licensees and lessees of the rent due and lists were published in the Government Gazette at June and December. Rents were able to be paid either locally or directly to the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538) where the keeping of rent rolls was instituted in 1862. Previous records of rent payments were kept by the Treasury (from 1849) and destroyed by a process of periodical destruction. Returns of rent payments from districts outside Melbourne may be seen in VPRS 809 Return of Pastoral Rents Received.These rent rolls, presumed to be those instituted by the Department in 1862 consist of large standard record sheets. Details given are the Run District, the name of the run, the details of the half - yearly payments made with remarks regarding any forfeitures or transfer of leases.VPRS 14144 was previously registered as part of Unit 278 of VPRS 458 / P Applications Registers, Land Act Unknown.