VPRS 14047 Register of Approved Applications, Bairnsdale Agricultural and Grazing Leases and Licenses (Bairnsdale District Land Office)

From about 1901 there was a steady decline in new applications being made under the Land Acts. In mid -1907 a circular was sent to District Land Officers notifying them that from that time onwards, all applications regardless of Act and Section of the Act, were to be recorded in a single register kept at the District Land Office and allocated an annual single number. Details recorded were the number allocated the application, the date of receipt, the name and postal address of the applicant, the location and extent of the land and the details of the recommendation by the Local Land Board and the disposal of the application (ie where it was forwarded or filed). A weekly return of all applications received was to be forwarded to Melbourne as well as a list of the cases to be considered by the Local Land Board prior to hearings. Records of a number of Local Land Boards are currently in custody.Once applications had been ruled upon by the Local Land Board, details of those which had been successful were to be entered in the register, as in this series, to be kept at the District Land Office for specific Sections of an Act. These registers contained the same details as in the general application register and then annotations relating to the Local Land Board, the dates of issue of any license and references and remarks. Details may include the dates of the issue of any lease or Crown grant or of entries in the Government Gazette as well as references to correspondence or file management.Section 42 of the Land Act 1884 (as confirmed in the consolidated Land Act 1890) provided for the issue to grazing area lessees (under Section 32 of the same Act) of licences to occupy for agricultural allotments not exceeding 320 acres in extent. . Persons who had selected that amount of land under previous Land Acts were not eligible for this provision. Those who had selected less than the 320 acres could select the amount of land necessary to make it up to 320 acres.Rent was set at one shilling per acre per annum with the licensee to reside on the allotment and make improvements to it. During the period of this license the land could be resumed by the Crown for a number of specified purposes with the repayment of any rentals or if the terms of the license were not complied with If these conditions and conditions relating to the control of vermin and fencing were complied with, at the end of this time a lease for up to 14 years was able to be applied for at the rental of one shilling per acre per annum or a Crown grant could be obtained by the payment of the full purchase price of fourteen shillings per acre. Lessees could obtain a Crown grant at any time during this fourteen year period by the payment of the difference between the rent already paid under the lease and the set price of fourteen shillings per acre.This Section was amended in Section 44 of the Land Act 1898 to divide lands into three classes for the purpose of the licensing of these agricultural allotments. No more than 200 acres of first-class lands were to be licensed at the rent of one shilling per acre per annum; no more than three hundred and twenty acres of second-class land at the annual rental of ninepence per acre. Both types of land were to be licensed for no more than six years.In the 1898 Act, Sections 58 and 59 provided for the extension of the licensing and leasing provisions for agricultural allotments to grazing allotments. Sections 59 and 61 of the Land Act 1898 allowed for the issue of residential or non-residential licenses for grazing allotments on third class land. A license to occupy could initially be issued for up to six years for 640 acres. If conditions relating to the provision of fencing and the destruction of vermin were met, a lease for 14 years could be obtained at a cost of sixpence per acre. Rent payments could be used to defray the cost of purchase at ten shillings per acre.Under the consolidated Land Act of 1901, agricultural allotments were dealt with under Sections 47 (licensing) and 49 (leasing) and grazing allotments by Sections 54 (licensing) and Section 56 (leasing).Successful applications had cards created at the Occupation Branch replacing the registers. One card was to record the details of the application and subsequently, record correspondence and file management matters and the other was to record the payments of rent instead of these being entered in rent rolls.Unsuccessful applications were to be sent to Melbourne, marked with the application number written inside the District Office stamp to be 'Put Away'. These would continue to be available in case of appeal against the decision of the Local land Board.District Survey Offices and the Lands Enquiry Office in Melbourne could receive applications for any Land District. These were recorded in special registers, without being allocated a number, with the papers then being sent to the Land Officer of the District in which the land applied for was situated this being noted in the register.The system of District Land Offices parallelled by similar 'District Offices' in the Occupation Branch continued, with a smaller number of physically separate offices outside Melbourne. Within the Occupation Branch itself, officers dealt with the business of a number of District Offices with the number of Divisions within the Branch fluctuating relative to the amount of business to be transacted, this in turn being affected by legislative enactments.This series was previously registered as Unit 4 of VPRS 453 / P Applications Registers (Numerical) Land Act 1901.

自1901年左右起，依据《土地法案》（Land Acts）提交的新申请数量持续下滑。1907年中期，相关部门向地区土地官员（District Land Officers）发送通知函，明确自即日起，无论依据哪部法案及其具体条款提交的申请，均需登记在地区土地办公室（District Land Office）留存的统一登记簿中，并分配年度唯一编号。登记内容包括申请分配编号、收件日期、申请人姓名及通信地址、土地位置与面积、地方土地委员会（Local Land Board）的初审意见，以及申请的处理流向（即申请被转递或归档的去向）。所有已接收申请的周度报表，以及听证会前需由地方土地委员会审议的案件清单，均需报送至墨尔本。目前，多份地方土地委员会的相关档案仍由档案馆保管。经地方土地委员会作出裁决后，获批的申请详情需登记入对应法案特定条款的专属登记簿中，即本系列档案所涵盖的登记簿，该登记簿由地区土地办公室留存。此类登记簿除记录与通用申请登记簿一致的信息外，还需附注地方土地委员会相关信息、各类许可证的签发日期，以及参考文献与备注内容。登记详情还可包括各类租约或王室土地授予（Crown grant）的签发日期、政府公报（Government Gazette）的登记日期，以及相关通信或档案管理的引用信息。1884年《土地法案》第42条（经1890年整合版《土地法案》确认）规定，可向依据同法案第32条规定的牧场承租人发放农业用地地块占用许可证，此类地块面积不得超过320英亩。此前依据其他土地法案已申请过同等面积土地的人员，不适用本条款；此前申请面积不足320英亩者，可补足差额以达到320英亩的申请标准。该许可证项下的租金定为每英亩每年1先令，持证人需在该地块上居住并对其进行改良。许可证有效期内，若持证人违反许可条款，或王室因若干法定事由需收回土地时，将退还已缴纳的租金。若持证人遵守许可条款以及害兽防控、围栏建设相关规定，则在许可证期满后，可申请签订最长14年的租约，租金仍为每英亩每年1先令；或选择以每英亩14先令的全额价款购买，获得王室土地授予。在这14年租约期内，承租人可随时补缴已缴租金与14先令每英亩的固定价款之间的差额，从而获得王室土地授予。1898年《土地法案》第44条对本条款进行了修订，将此类农业用地地块划分为三级以实施许可管理。一级土地的许可面积不得超过200英亩，租金为每英亩每年1先令；二级土地的许可面积不得超过320英亩，租金为每英亩每年9便士。两类土地的许可有效期均不得超过6年。1898年《土地法案》第58、59条将农业用地地块的许可与租约条款扩展适用于牧场用地地块。该法案第59、61条允许为三级土地上的牧场用地地块发放居住型或非居住型占用许可证。初始发放的占用许可证有效期最长为6年，对应地块面积可达640英亩。若持证人遵守围栏建设与害兽灭杀相关规定，则可按每英亩6便士的标准签订14年租约；已缴纳的租金可用于抵扣每英亩10先令的土地购买价款。在1901年整合版《土地法案》框架下，农业用地地块的管理依据第47条（许可）与第49条（租约）执行，牧场用地地块则依据第54条（许可）与第56条（租约）执行。获批申请的相关档案不再使用登记簿留存，而是由占用事务科（Occupation Branch）制作卡片管理。其中一张卡片用于记录申请详情，后续还可记录相关通信与档案管理事项；另一张卡片则用于记录租金缴纳情况，替代此前的租金名册。未获批的申请需报送至墨尔本，由地区办公室加盖印章并标注申请编号后归档留存。此类档案仍可供后续就地方土地委员会的裁决提起上诉时查阅。地区测量办公室与墨尔本的土地查询办公室（Lands Enquiry Office）可接收任意土地辖区的土地申请。此类申请会登记在专用登记簿中，无需分配编号，随后相关材料将被转送至申请土地所在辖区的土地官员处，该流转信息需在登记簿中予以备注。地区土地办公室的管理体系由占用事务科内的同类“地区办公室”并行支撑，墨尔本以外仅设有少量实体独立办公点。在占用事务科内部，工作人员需处理多个辖区的业务，科内分部的数量会随业务量波动，而业务量又受立法修订的影响。本系列档案此前登记为VPRS 453 / P《1901年土地法案申请登记簿（编号式）》第4单元。