VPRS 13377 Register of Applications, Castlemaine, Section 22 Land Act 1891 and Section 106 Land Act 1901 (Castlemaine District Survey Office)

The Land Act 1890 Amendment of 1891, in Section 22 (Section 106 of the Land Act 1901), provided for worked out auriferous (gold bearing) lands to be proclaimed and licensed for occupation. No individual could occupy more than five acres for a period not exceeding seven years. Rent was to be no less than one shilling per acre and the land was to be used for such purposes as residence, place of business or for use as an orchard, vineyard or garden. After seven years, a Crown grant could be applied for with payment of not less than one pound per acre with previously paid rentals being used to defray the purchase price.When an application to select Crown land was received by the Department it would be registered in a register of applications. The contents of registers of applications were arranged alphabetically and application numbers were allocated consecutively in blocks for each letter of the alphabet.In an attempt to try and rationalise the way the Department managed Crown land, the Occupation Branch was established in 1874 under the influence of H Byron Moore, Assistant Surveyor General. The Occupation Branch was to deal with all matters relating to the occupation of Crown land.The State was divided into fifteen Land Districts, these being Ararat, Ballarat, Beechworth, Benalla, Castlemaine and Dunolly, Echuca, Geelong Warrnambool and Camperdown, Hamilton, Horsham, Melbourne, Sale and Bairnsdale, Sandhurst (Bendigo), Seymour and St Arnaud. Each District was represented at the Occupation Branch in Melbourne by a 'District Land Office'.Each District Land Office consisted of a double table or desk at which both a clerk and draughtsman sat. Everything in the way of files, maps and plans were at convenient reach. The same officers dealt with the sale of Crown land from its 'inception to its disposition'. The District Offices' staff consisted essentially of a clerical officer and a draughtsman who dealt solely with that Land District. It was their business to know the District and to deal with all land business related to it. By 1877 each District Land Office, consisted of a District Officer, a rental clerk, a draughtsman and several general clerks.After the establishment of the Occupation Branch in 1874 and the division of the State into Land Districts, applications were registered by District. Each 'District Land Office' created and maintained their own series of registers of applications. Any new applications received by the Department after 1874 were registered in separate District registers with applications numbers that were allocated from the number one onwards. The same application number could be allocated for selections in different Districts. For example, the application number 1021/32 could exist in both the Ballarat and Bendigo Land Districts. It is the District name plus the accompanying file number that is the unique identifier.Applicants completed an application form at District Survey Offices. Most Land Districts had a District Survey Office. The District Surveyor would enter the applicants' details in a register of applications kept at the District Survey Office. The register of applications allocated a number to each applicant. The application number was written on the application to select and subsequently became their land selection file number if their application was approved.The District Surveyor would enter into the register of applications the application number, the date the application was received, the applicants' name, occupation and parish, the allotment number and size (acres, roods and perches) applied for. The application was then forwarded to the appropriate District Land Office at the Occupation Branch in Melbourne. It was then entered in a duplicate register of applications there against the same application number. The District Surveyor also forwarded a tracing of the allotment applied for.The location of the allotment applied for was immediately charted on a working plan in pencil. The tracing was then sent to the Department of Mines and Water Supply (VA 2720) for a report on any mining objections. If there were no mining objections the application would be heard before a Local Land Board. Local Land Boards were made up of representatives from the local community and the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538). The Boards would hear from all applicants for an allotment and would decide who was to be granted the licence or lease. The schedule documenting the decisions of the Local Land Board was forwarded to the appropriate District Land Office at the Occupation Branch and the decision was entered into the register of applications.The Board of Land and Works (VA 744), the statutory authority for the management of Crown land, would give final approval for land selection, acting on the recommendation of the Local Land Board. The decision of the Board of Lands and Works (VA 744) was then recorded in the register of applications. The registers also record the date of the licence or lease issued and any subsequent action in relation to that file. The selectors granted each allotment would then be recorded on the working plan by the District Land Office draughtsman at the Occupation Branch. The tracing of the allotment was then sent to the Crown Land Bailiff responsible for that Land District.Registers of applications control selection and occupation files. If an application to select Crown land was successful, the application number would become the file number. For example if an application to select under section 22 of the Land Act 1891 was registered as application number 324 then the selection or occupation file number would be 324/22.The application number remained the selection file number for a particular piece of land if all terms and conditions were met and the selection resulted in a Crown Grant. However, often the original selector did not end up owning the land. Many selectors forfeited or abandoned their licence or lease. If this were the case then the land was re-opened up for selection. Any new applicants were registered in a register of applications under a new application number. The original applicants file would be attached to the new selectors file. The new file number was annotated in the register against the original selectors' entry.Even if the same selector applied for a licence on land he had previously forfeited a new application number would be allocated and the file would have a new selection file number.VPRS 13377 / P1 was previously registered as Unit 266 of VPRS 458/P Applications Registers, Land Act Unknown.

1891年《1890年土地法修正案》第22条（即1901年《土地法》第106条）规定，对已开采的含金（产金）土地进行公告并发放占用许可。个人占用土地面积不得超过5英亩，占用期限不超过7年。租金不得低于每英亩1先令，且土地仅可用于居住、商业办公，或用作果园、葡萄园或菜园。占用满7年后，申请人可申请王室土地授予（Crown grant），支付金额不低于每英亩1英镑，且已缴纳的租金可用于抵扣购地款。

当部门收到王室土地选租申请时，会将其录入申请登记簿。申请登记簿内容按字母顺序编排，申请编号按字母表顺序分块连续分配。

为理顺部门对王室土地的管理流程，1874年在测量署助理局长H·拜伦·摩尔（H Byron Moore）的推动下，设立了占用事务分部（Occupation Branch），该分部负责处理所有与王室土地占用相关的事务。

该州划分为15个土地辖区，分别为：阿拉拉特、巴拉腊特、比奇沃思、贝纳拉、卡斯尔梅恩与杜诺利、伊丘卡、吉朗、瓦南布尔与坎珀当、汉密尔顿、霍舍姆、墨尔本、塞尔与贝恩斯代尔、桑德赫斯特（本迪戈）、西摩与圣阿诺德。每个辖区均在墨尔本的占用事务分部设立地区土地办事处（District Land Office）作为其驻点。

每个地区土地办事处设有双人办公桌，办事员与绘图员在此协同办公，文件、地图与各类图纸均放置于随手可取之处。同一批工作人员负责王室土地出让从启动到最终处置的全流程事务。地区土地办事处的核心工作人员为办事员与绘图员，仅负责对应辖区的相关事务，其职责包括熟悉辖区情况，并处理该辖区内所有土地相关业务。至1877年，每个地区土地办事处已配备辖区专员、租金办事员、绘图员以及若干综合办事员。

1874年占用事务分部设立且全州划分为土地辖区后，申请按辖区进行登记。每个地区土地办事处均创建并维护各自的申请登记簿系列。1874年后部门收到的所有新申请均录入独立的辖区登记簿，申请编号从1开始连续分配。不同辖区可使用相同的申请编号，例如申请编号1021/32可同时存在于巴拉腊特与本迪戈土地辖区。因此，辖区名称与附带的档案编号共同构成唯一标识符。

申请人需在地区测量办事处填写申请表。多数土地辖区均设有地区测量办事处，辖区测量员会将申请人信息录入该办事处留存的申请登记簿，并为每位申请人分配申请编号。申请编号会标注在选租申请表上，若申请获批，该编号将成为其土地选租档案编号。

辖区测量员需在申请登记簿中记录申请编号、申请接收日期、申请人姓名、职业与教区、申请的地块编号及面积（英亩、路得与平方杆）。随后申请表将被转交至墨尔本占用事务分部对应的地区土地办事处，并以相同的申请编号录入该处的申请副登记簿。同时，辖区测量员还需转交申请地块的描图。

申请地块的位置会立即以铅笔绘制在工作规划图上。随后描图将被送至矿产与供水署（Department of Mines and Water Supply，档案编号VA 2720），以获取是否存在采矿异议的评估报告。若无采矿异议，申请将提交至地方土地委员会（Local Land Board）进行听证。地方土地委员会由当地社区代表与王室土地与测量署（Department of Crown Lands and Survey，档案编号VA 538）的代表组成，委员会将听取所有地块申请人的陈述，并决定向哪位申请人发放许可或租约。

记录地方土地委员会决策的纪要将被转交至墨尔本占用事务分部对应的地区土地办事处，并将决策内容录入申请登记簿。

土地工程委员会（Board of Land and Works，档案编号VA 744）是管理王室土地的法定机构，将根据地方土地委员会的推荐对土地选租申请作出最终批复。土地工程委员会的决策将被录入申请登记簿。申请登记簿还会记录许可或租约的签发日期，以及该档案后续的所有相关操作。获得地块选租资格的申请人信息将由占用事务分部地区土地办事处的绘图员标注在工作规划图上。随后地块描图将被送至负责对应辖区的王室土地执达员（Crown Land Bailiff）。

申请登记簿管控所有选租与占用档案。若王室土地选租申请获批，申请编号将直接作为档案编号。例如，若依据1891年《土地法》第22条提交的选租申请登记编号为324，则该选租或占用档案编号为324/22。

若申请人满足全部条款且最终成功获得王室土地授予，原申请编号将作为该地块的选租档案编号持续使用。但实际情况中，原申请人往往无法最终保有该土地，众多申请人会因违约或放弃许可/租约而丧失资格。此时该土地将重新对外开放选租，新申请人需以新申请编号录入申请登记簿，原申请人的档案将附至新申请人的档案中。登记簿中会在原申请人的条目旁标注新档案编号。

即便原申请人就其此前已丧失资格的土地再次申请许可，仍需分配新的申请编号，档案也将使用新的选租档案编号。

VPRS 13377/P原登记为VPRS 458/P《申请登记簿》第266单元，所属《土地法》未知。