VPRS 11717 Register of Licence Applications, Yarram

This series comprises an amalgamation of records of proceedings concerning liquor licence applications. If the register records applications made prior to 1890 it is likely that there will be proceedings for non-liquor licence applications.Liquor licensing has had a complex history which is yet to be fully researched. The sale of liquor has been subject to regulation since the beginnings of settlement in Victoria. Following proclamation of the Licensing Act 1885 (40 Vic.,No.857) jurisdiction over liquor licensing has been vested in distinct judicial and administrative bodies. The records in this series may be of the following types according to the licensing authority which created them.Courts of Petty Sessions Licence Registers to 1886Up to 1886 registers of applications for liquor and non-liquor licences were created and maintained in local courts of petty sessions at which annual, quarterly and general sittings of justices of the peace, licensing benches or licensing magistrates occurred.Licensing Courts Registers 1886-1954Under the Licensing Act 1885 (40 Vic.,No.857) Victoria was divided into Licensing Districts, each one comprising a division of an electoral district. The Act provided for Licensing Courts to be constituted for each Licensing District to hear and determine liquor licence applications only. For its annual sittings each Licensing Court was to be constituted by three licensing magistrates, who could be police magistrates except in the (Melbourne) Metropolitan, Ballarat and Sandhurst (Bendigo) groups of Licensing Districts where one of the licensing magistrates was to be a county court judge. Outside of the annual sittings, applications could be heard and determined by any one member of the Licensing Court. Non-liquor licences continued to be heard by the court of petty sessions.The registers created between 1886 and 1890 often document the transition of responsibility from the courts of petty sessions to the licensing courts. In most country areas the same volume continued to be used for liquor and non-liquor licence applications until circa 1890 when new stationery was introduced specifically for liquor licence applications. Between 1886 and 1890, the pages which recorded proceedings of the Licensing Court were annotated to show that they were a record of that authority.Until 1916, separate Licensing Courts were constituted throughout Victoria to hear applications for a number of licensing districts. Under the Licensing Act 1916 (No.2855) the same three licensing magistrates held Licensing Court hearings on a circuit basis. The Licensing Amendment Act 1922 (No.3259) subsequently reduced the number of licensing districts from two hundred and seventeen (one for each division of an electoral district) to sixty-five (one for each electoral district). The registers always record the place of the sitting and the licensing districts to which the hearings related.Victorian Licensing Court Registers 1954-1968The Victorian Licensing Court succeeded the Licensing Courts under the Licensing Amendment Act 1953 (No.5767).The Court was constituted by two magistrates under the chairmanship of a judge of the County Court. Under the 1953 Act the division of the State into licensing districts effectively ceased although the Court continued to conduct hearings in licensing areas throughout the State.Liquor Control Commission Registers 1968-1982The Liquor Control Commission was established under the Liquor Control Act 1968 (No.7695) on 1 July 1968 as successor to the Victorian Licensing Court. The Liquor Control Commission was constituted by four members, the chairman being a County Court Judge. From 1975 the chairman could be any "judicial member". The Commission continued the practice of holding sittings at country and metropolitan locations.

本系列汇编了与酒类牌照申请相关的全部程序案卷。若该登记册收录有1890年之前提交的申请记录，则大概率同时涵盖非酒类牌照申请的相关程序。酒类牌照监管历史脉络复杂，至今尚未得到充分研究。自维多利亚州殖民定居伊始，酒类销售便受到监管。1885年《牌照法》（40 Vic.,No.857）颁布后，酒类牌照监管权划归独立的司法与行政机构管辖。
本系列档案按制作监管机构的不同，可分为以下几类：
1. 1886年之前的治安法院（Courts of Petty Sessions）牌照登记册
1886年以前，酒类与非酒类牌照的申请登记册均由当地治安法院制作并维护，该类法院会定期举行年度、季度及常规庭审，由治安法官、牌照委员会或牌照裁判官主持。
2. 1886年至1954年的牌照法院（Licensing Courts）登记册
根据1885年《牌照法》（40 Vic.,No.857），维多利亚州被划分为若干牌照辖区，每个辖区对应一个选举区的分区。该法规定每个牌照辖区需设立牌照法院，仅负责审理酒类牌照申请。牌照法院的年度庭审需由三名牌照裁判官组成合议庭：在墨尔本都会区、巴拉瑞特及桑德赫斯特（Sandhurst，今本迪戈Bendigo）牌照辖区组，其中一名裁判官须为县法院（County Court）法官；其余地区可由治安法官担任。非年度庭审期间，牌照法院的任意一名成员即可审理并裁决申请。非酒类牌照申请仍由治安法院审理。
1886年至1890年间制作的登记册，往往记录了监管职责从治安法院向牌照法院过渡的过程。在大多数乡村地区，同一卷册会同时用于酒类与非酒类牌照申请登记，直至约1890年专门用于酒类牌照申请的新式文书启用。1886年至1890年间，记录牌照法院程序的页面会标注为该监管机构的档案。
直至1916年，维多利亚州各地仍会针对多个牌照辖区单独设立牌照法院。1916年《牌照法》（No.2855）颁布后，三名牌照裁判官采用巡回审判的方式开展牌照法院庭审。1922年《牌照修订法》（No.3259）随后将牌照辖区数量从217个（对应每个选举区分区）缩减至65个（对应每个选举区）。所有登记册均会记录庭审地点及相关牌照辖区信息。
3. 1954年至1968年的维多利亚州牌照法院登记册
根据1953年《牌照修订法》（No.5767），维多利亚州牌照法院取代原有的各牌照法院。该法院由两名治安法官组成，由一名县法院法官担任庭长。1953年法案虽正式废除了州内牌照辖区的划分，但该法院仍会在全州各牌照辖区开展庭审。
4. 1968年至1982年的酒类监管委员会（Liquor Control Commission）登记册
1968年7月1日，根据1968年《酒类监管法》（No.7695），酒类监管委员会成立，承接维多利亚州牌照法院的职能。该委员会由四名成员组成，主席为县法院法官。1975年起，主席可由任意“司法成员”担任。该委员会仍延续了在乡村及都会地区开展庭审的惯例。