VPRS 701 Court of Mines Register

Background: A court of mines operated in each district. Each was presided over by a Judge who was usually also a County Court Judge. The Court of Mines heard and ruled upon a wide range of mining related disputes including disputes over the entitlements of partners, shareholders and employees of mining enterprises. The court also acted as an appeal court for decisions of the Mining Warden regarding territory-related disputes such as the boundaries of claims and leases. (For further information about the role of the Mining Warden see VRG 25 Mining Districts). Court of Mines were not responsible for issuing Miner's Rights, surveying or registering claims or granting leases. All these were the responsibility of other non-judicial officials. For further information about the gold and mineral mining function see VRG 25 Mining Districts.Although there was only one court constituted in each district, at different times the court may have sat at several locations in the district.Courts of Mines continued to operate until 1969, although the volume of business diminished in the twentieth century. In 1969 the Mines (Abolition of Courts) Act abolished Courts of Mines and transferred their jurisdiction to County Courts.Courts of Mines Registers: A Register of the decrees (that is, orders) of the District Court of Mines was kept at each place the Court sat. For the Beechworth Mining District Court of Mines, for example, separate Registers are known to have been kept at Alexandra, Kilmore, Yackandandah, Beechworth, Bright and Mansfield and may have been kept at other localities.Registers record details of the number (see below) and date of each "plaint" (that is complaint or case before the court), the names and addresses of the plaintiff and defendant, the nature of the complaint, (where relevant) the amount or value of the complaint, details of court fees, the decree (ie order), date of carrying out the order and other remarks.Cases were entered into the register in chronological order of the date they came before the court and each case was numbered. Two numbering sequences were used simultaneously; one for appeals against decisions of the Mining Warden and one for all other Court of Mines Business. Both numbering sequences recommenced at 1 at the beginning of each year. Hence the first appeal case for a particular year was numbered 1, the second 2, and so on. Interspersed amongst these entries were non-appeals, the first of which for the year would also be numbered 1, the second 2, and so on. At the beginning of the following year both numbering sequence would start again at 1.