VPRS 1295 Register of Lessees, Hamilton, Sections 22, 33 and 37 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.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 person in the form set down in the Schedules to the Act 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 (sic), 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 licence 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 licence 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.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 Survey 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.In 2003, VPRS 1295/P0 was reserialised with the exception of units 1 and 2. Units 3 to 19 were reserialised as sixteen series, Registers of Lessees for various land districts.