VPRS 13474 Register of Applications, Seymour, Other Sections Land Acts 1884, 1890, 1891, 1898 and 1901 (Seymour District Survey Office)

This series was created by the District Survey Office at Seymour. It is duplicated by Register of Applications, Seymour, Other Sections Land Acts 1884, 1890, 1891, 1898 and 1901 (Occupation Branch) (VPRS 13473) which is the register created by the 'Seymour District Office' at the Occupation Branch.VPRS 13474 / P1 was previously registered as Unit 39 of VPRS 446 / P Applications Registers Land Act 1884 and Unit 269 of VPRS 458 / P Application Registers, Land Act Unknown.Sections of an Act that were less common were often recorded together in the one register. This was the case with a number of sections of the Land Act 1884. These sections remained in consolidations of the Land Act (1890 and 1901), but with a change in the section number. Other lesser sections were added and also entered in the same register from subsequent acts such as the Land Act 1891, Land Act 1898 and the Wattles Act 1890.Section 67 of the Land Act 1884 allowed for the annual licensing of no more than 1000 acres for grazing on auriferous (gold bearing) lands. This was allowed to continue for five years and with the right to mine the land remaining. Under Section 91 of the Land Act 1898, (later Section 105, Land Act 1901) this term was extended to 21 years and the right to fence the land extended to licensees with the land able to be treated as rateable property.The Land Act 1890 Amendment of 1891, in Section 22 (later Section 106 of the Land Act 1901), provided for worked out auriferous 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.Section 93 and Section 91 of the Land Act 1884 (later Section 99, Land Act 1890 and Section 145, Land Act 1901) 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 and Section 187, Land Act 1901.Section 147 of the Land Act 1901 allowed the licensing of bee-keeping establishments of not more than one acre for one year on any Crown land including that held under an agricultural license or lease or a grazing lease.The Wattles Act was passed to encourage the commercial exploitation of certain acacia species. Under Section 10, Wattles Act 1890 a lessee under Section 32 of the Land Act 1884 could cancel that lease and obtain a lease for the cultivation of wattle trees.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 42 of the Land Act 1884 was registered as application number 324 then the selection or occupation file number would be 324/42.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.

本系列档案由西摩（Seymour）地区勘测办公室编制，其副本由《西摩其他科土地法案申请登记簿》（1884、1890、1891、1898及1901年版，土地占用科）（VPRS 13473）生成，该登记簿由“西摩地区办公室”土地占用科创建。VPRS 13474 / P1此前被登记为VPRS 446 / P《1884年土地法案申请登记簿》第39单元，以及VPRS 458 / P《未知土地法案申请登记簿》第269单元。

较为冷门的法案条款通常会被汇总至同一本登记簿中，1884年《土地法案》的若干条款便是如此。这些条款在1890年和1901年的《土地法案》整合版本中得以保留，但条款编号发生了变更。其他冷门条款亦被新增至该登记簿，并来自后续出台的法案，如1891年《土地法案》、1898年《土地法案》及1890年《金合欢法案》。

1884年《土地法案》第67条允许每年为含金（auriferous）土地的放牧用途核发不超过1000英亩的许可证，该许可有效期为五年，且保留土地的采矿权。1898年《土地法案》第91条（后为1901年《土地法案》第105条）将该许可期限延长至21年，并允许持证人围封土地，同时该土地可被列为应课税财产。

1891年《1890年土地法案修正案》第22条（后为1901年《土地法案》第106条）规定，可宣布枯竭的含金土地并核发占用许可证。任何个人占用土地不得超过5英亩，且期限不超过7年，租金不得低于每英亩1先令。

1884年《土地法案》第93条与第91条（后为1890年《土地法案》第99条，及1901年《土地法案》第145条）规定，可出于多种用途核发王室土地的许可证或租赁权，包括乡村经营、原材料外运及其他非农业或放牧用途。许可证可按年续期，费用另行设定。根据1884年法案申领的此类用途租赁，面积不得超过3英亩，年租金为5英镑。

1884年《土地法案》第119条规定，可为未作他用的王室土地核发放牧许可证。该条款在1890年《土地法案》中延续为第123条，1901年《土地法案》中延续为第187条。

1901年《土地法案》第147条允许在任何王室土地上核发不超过1英亩的养蜂场许可证，有效期为一年，包括已持有农业许可证、租赁协议或放牧租赁的土地。

《金合欢法案》旨在推动特定金合欢属物种的商业化开发。根据1890年《金合欢法案》第10条，持有1884年《土地法案》第32条项下租赁权的承租人可撤销原租赁，转而申领金合欢树种植租赁。

当土地管理部门收到王室土地选地申请后，会将其登记至申请登记簿。申请登记簿内容按字母顺序排列，申请编号按字母表分组连续分配。

为理顺王室土地管理流程，1874年在助理测量总监H·拜伦·摩尔（H Byron Moore）的推动下设立了土地占用科，负责处理所有与王室土地占用相关的事务。

该州被划分为15个土地管辖区，分别为：阿拉拉特、巴拉瑞特、比奇沃思、贝纳拉、卡斯尔梅因与杜诺利、伊丘卡、吉隆-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）、西摩以及圣阿尔诺。每个管辖区在墨尔本的土地占用科均设有一名“地区土地办公室”代表。

各地区土地办公室设有双人办公桌，书记员与绘图员同时办公，各类文件、地图与规划均触手可及。同一批工作人员负责王室土地出售的“从受理到处置”全流程。地区办公室的人员配置最初仅为一名书记员与一名绘图员，专门负责对应土地管辖区的事务，他们需熟悉本辖区情况并处理所有相关土地业务。至1877年，各地区土地办公室的人员已扩充至地区官员、租金书记员、绘图员及多名普通文员。

1874年土地占用科成立并将全州划分为土地管辖区后，申请按管辖区进行登记。各“地区土地办公室”自行创建并维护其申请登记簿系列。1874年后部门收到的所有新申请，均登记在单独的地区登记簿中，申请编号从1开始连续分配。不同管辖区可使用相同的申请编号，例如巴拉瑞特与本迪戈土地管辖区均可存在申请编号1021/32。唯有结合管辖区名称与配套档案编号，方可构成唯一标识符。

申请人需在地区勘测办公室填写申请表。多数土地管辖区均设有地区勘测办公室，地区勘测员会将申请人信息登记至地区勘测办公室留存的申请登记簿，并为每位申请人分配申请编号。该申请编号会被标注在选地申请表上，若申请获批，该编号将成为其土地选地档案编号。

地区勘测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、申请的地块编号与面积（英亩、路得与平方杆）。随后，申请会被转发至墨尔本土地占用科对应的地区土地办公室，并在该办公室的副本申请登记簿中以同一申请编号登记。地区勘测员还需转发所申请地块的勘绘图。

所申请地块的位置会立即以铅笔绘制在工作规划图上。随后，勘绘图会被送至矿产与供水部门（VA 2720），以获取采矿异议相关报告。若无采矿异议，申请将提交至地方土地委员会审议。地方土地委员会由当地社区代表与王室土地与测量部门（VA 538）的代表组成，委员会将听取所有地块申请人的陈述，并决定许可证或租赁权的授予对象。记录地方土地委员会决策的清单会被转发至墨尔本土地占用科对应的地区土地办公室，决策内容将被登记至申请登记簿。

土地与工程委员会（VA 744）作为王室土地管理的法定主管机构，将根据地方土地委员会的推荐作出土地选地的最终批准。土地与工程委员会（VA 744）的决策会被登记至申请登记簿。登记簿还会记录许可证或租赁协议的核发日期，以及该档案后续的所有相关动作。获批选地的申请人信息会被墨尔本土地占用科的地区土地办公室绘图员标注至工作规划图上。随后，地块勘绘图会被送至负责对应土地管辖区的王室土地执行官。

申请登记簿管控选地与占用档案。若王室土地选地申请获批，申请编号将成为档案编号。例如，若根据1884年《土地法案》第42条提交的选地申请登记为编号324，则该选地或占用档案编号为324/42。若所有条款与条件均得到满足且选地最终获批王室授予，申请编号将始终作为特定地块的选地档案编号。然而，通常原申请人并不会最终持有该土地，许多申请人会丧失或放弃其许可证或租赁权。若出现此类情况，该土地将重新开放供选地。新申请人的信息将以新的申请编号登记至申请登记簿，原申请人的档案将附至新申请人的档案中。新档案编号会被批注至登记簿中原申请人的条目下方。即便同一申请人就其此前丧失的土地再次申领许可证，也会被分配新的申请编号，档案将拥有新的选地档案编号。