VPRS 13219 Registers of Applications, Ballarat, Section 47 Land Act 1869 (Ballarat District Survey Office)

VPRS 13219/P1 Registers of Applications, Ballarat, Section 47 Land Act 1869 (Ballarat District Survey Office) was created by the District Survey Office at Ballarat. It is duplicated by Register of Applications, Ballarat Section 47 Land Act 1869 (Occupation Branch) (VPRS 13218/P1) which is the register created by the 'Ballarat District Office' at the Occupation Branch.VPRS 13219/P1 was previously registered as Units 89 and 97 of VPRS 451/P Applications Registers Land Act 1869.The introduction of the Land Act 1869 saw all Crown land, not previously occupied in Victoria opened up for selection. Provisions were made in section 42 of the Land Act 1865 for selection before survey. Prior to this time surveys were conducted on all Crown land before it was made available. The provision of free selection before survey was carried to the 1869 Act. The aim of the legislation was to encourage settlement on lands that would be most advantageous to the colony. The Act also provided for the leasing and licensing of land for other than agricultural and pastoral purposes.Section 47 of the Land Act 1869 allowed, as did Section 53 of the Land Act 1862, for a license to be granted for the use of Crown lands not under lease or license under Part II of the 1869 Act. Uses were for the extraction of raw materials such as timber and stone, the processing of rural products in such facilities as brick kilns, to occupy fishermen's' residences, to erect pumps and collect ballast and for any other purpose for which land might be leased under Section 45 of the Act. Clause 7 allowed the depasturing of animals on land not forming part of any run or common.From the start of 1873, the occupation of any Crown land for pastoral purposes was not to be authorized under the usual pastoral license, but by the use of this 7th clause of Section 47. This change indicated a preference for not giving a prolonged tenure for this purpose and for not selling the country involved as new runs. The use of this clause was advocated as it conceded no privileges with respect to length of tenure or occupation.The additional advantages provided to selectors as a result of the Land Act 1869 resulted in an exceptional number of applications to select Crown land. By 1873 the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538) was experiencing many problems in managing applications. Public complaints were at an all time high. The complaints ranged from extraordinarily long delays in application processing, applications being approved for more than one person on the same allotment and long delays in replying to correspondence.When an application to select Crown land was received by the Department it would be registered in a register of applications. Prior to 1874 and the establishment of the Occupation Branch all applications made under sections of the Land Act 1869 were recorded in the same series of registers irrespective of location. The contents of registers of applications were arranged alphabetically and application numbers were allocated consecutively in blocks for each letter of the alphabet.Separate registers of applications were usually created for each section of the Land Act under which individuals could apply to select land. For example, all applications received under section 47 of the Land Act 1869 were recorded in the same register. Sections of an Act that were less common were often recorded in the one register.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 1021/49 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 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 position 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 issue 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.The new registers of applications were arranged by Land District and by section of Land Act applications were received under. For example, all applications received under section 47 of the Land Act 1869 for the Ballarat Land District were recorded in the same series of registers. Sections of an Act that were less common were often recorded in the one District register.

VPRS 13219/P1《巴拉腊特地区1869年土地法第47条申请登记簿》（巴拉腊特地区测量办公室）由巴拉腊特地区测量办公室编制。其副本为《巴拉腊特地区1869年土地法第47条（土地占用科）申请登记簿》（VPRS 13218/P1），该副本由“巴拉腊特地区办公室”土地占用科编制。VPRS 13219/P1原登记为VPRS 451/P《1869年土地法申请登记簿》的第89、97单元。
1869年《土地法》的出台，使维多利亚州此前未被占用的全部王室土地开放供认领。1865年《土地法》第42条已规定可在测量前进行土地认领，在此之前，所有王室土地均需完成测量后方可开放使用。测量前免费认领土地的条款被纳入1869年《土地法》。该立法的初衷是鼓励在对殖民地最具效益的土地上开展定居活动，同时还规定了农业、牧业以外用途的土地租赁与许可制度。
1869年《土地法》第47条与1862年《土地法》第53条类似，允许为未依据1869年法案第二部分租赁或许可的王室土地颁发使用许可。许可用途涵盖木材、石材等原材料的开采，砖窑等设施内的农产品加工，为渔民提供住宅，架设水泵并收集压舱物，以及其他可依据该法第45条租赁土地的用途。第7条款则允许在不属于任何牧场或公共用地的土地上放牧牲畜。
自1873年起，任何用于牧业目的的王室土地占用，不再通过常规牧业许可进行授权，而是适用第47条第7条款。这一调整表明当局倾向于不为此类用途提供长期使用权，也不将相关土地作为新牧场进行处置。该条款的使用得到倡导，因其不会在使用权期限或占用范围上给予任何特权。
1869年《土地法》为土地认领者带来的额外权益，使得申请认领王室土地的数量激增。到1873年，王室土地与测量部（VA 538）在管理申请时遭遇诸多难题，公众投诉达到历史峰值。投诉内容包括申请处理周期过长、同一块地块被批准给多名申请人，以及回复函件耗时过久等问题。
当部门收到土地认领申请后，会将其登记在申请登记簿中。在1874年土地占用科成立之前，所有依据1869年《土地法》条款提交的申请，无论申请地点如何，均被记录在同一套登记簿中。申请登记簿按字母顺序排列，申请编号按字母表顺序分批次连续分配。
通常，每一类可用于土地认领的《土地法》条款均会对应单独的申请登记簿。例如，所有依据1869年《土地法》第47条提交的申请均被记录在同一登记簿中。使用频率较低的法案条款，往往会被合并记录在同一登记簿中。
为合理化王室土地的管理方式，1874年在助理测量总监H·拜伦·摩尔（H Byron Moore）的推动下，土地占用科正式成立，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个土地行政区，分别为：阿拉拉特、巴拉腊特、比奇沃思、贝纳拉、卡斯尔梅恩与邓诺利、伊丘卡、吉隆-瓦南布尔与坎珀当、汉密尔顿、霍舍姆、墨尔本、塞尔与拜恩斯代尔、桑德赫斯特（本迪戈）、西摩以及圣阿尔诺。每个行政区在墨尔本的土地占用科均设有“地区土地办公室”。
每个地区土地办公室配备双人办公桌，书记员与绘图员可同时办公，文件、地图与平面图均放置在随手可及之处。同一批工作人员负责处理王室土地从“立项到处置”的全流程业务。地区办公室的人员配置最初仅为一名文职人员与一名绘图员，专门负责对应土地行政区的事务，他们需要熟悉本行政区情况并处理所有相关土地业务。到1877年，每个地区土地办公室的人员已扩充至地区官员、租赁文员、绘图员及数名普通文员。
1874年土地占用科成立并将全州划分为土地行政区后，申请按行政区进行登记。每个“地区土地办公室”自行创建并维护各自的申请登记簿系列。1874年之后部门收到的所有新申请，均在单独的地区登记簿中登记，申请编号从1开始连续分配。不同行政区可使用相同的申请编号，例如巴拉腊特和本迪戈土地行政区均可存在申请编号1021/49，唯有行政区名称搭配附带的档案编号才是唯一标识符。
申请人需在地区测量办公室填写申请表。大多数土地行政区均设有地区测量办公室，地区测量员会将申请人的详细信息记录在地区测量办公室留存的申请登记簿中，并为每位申请人分配申请编号。该申请编号会被写在土地认领申请表上，若申请获批，该编号即成为其档案编号。
地区测量员需在申请登记簿中记录以下信息：申请编号、申请接收日期、申请人姓名、职业和教区、申请的地块编号及面积（英亩、路得、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相同的申请编号进行登记。地区测量员还需转发所申请地块的草图。
所申请地块的位置会立即用铅笔在工作平面图上标注。随后，该草图会被送至矿产与供水部（VA 2720）以获取矿业反对意见报告。若无矿业反对意见，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和王室土地与测量部（VA 538）的代表组成，委员会会听取所有地块申请人的陈述，并决定向谁颁发许可或租赁权。记录地方土地委员会决议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，决议内容会被录入申请登记簿。
作为管理王室土地的法定机构，土地与工程委员会（VA 744）会依据地方土地委员会的建议，对土地认领申请作出最终批准。土地与工程委员会（VA 744）的决议会被记录在申请登记簿中。登记簿还会记录许可颁发日期及该档案后续的所有相关操作。获得地块认领权的申请人信息会被土地占用科的地区土地办公室绘图员标注在工作平面图上。随后，地块草图会被送至负责对应土地行政区的王室土地执行官。
新版申请登记簿按土地行政区及所依据的土地法条款分类登记。例如，所有依据1869年《土地法》第47条提交的巴拉腊特土地行政区申请，均被记录在同一套登记簿中。使用频率较低的法案条款，往往会被合并记录在同一地区登记簿中。