VPRS 13384 Register of Applications, Echuca, Section 42 Land Acts 1884 and 1890, Sections 44 and 59 Land Act 1898 and Sections 47 and 54 Land Act 1901 (Occupation Branch)

VPRS 13384 Register of Applications, Echuca, Section 42 Land Acts 1884 and 1890, Sections 44 and 59 Land Act 1898 and Sections 47 and 54 Land Act 1901 (Occupation Branch) was created by the 'Echuca District Office' at the Occupation Register of Applications, Echuca, Section 42 Land Acts 1884 and 1890, Sections 44 and 59 Land Act 1898 and Sections 47 and 54 Land Act 1901.(Echuca District Survey Office) (VPRS 13385) which is the register created by the District Survey Office in Echuca.VPRS 13384 / P1 was previously registered as Unit 11 of VPRS 142 / P Application Registers, Land Act 1890.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. In addition, Section 59 allowed the licensing of third-class land for a period of six years for sixpence per acre per annum. 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).Instructions were given, with the issue of new stationery to District Survey Offices in 1899 that the numbers allocated for applications in these books were to commence at the whole thousand after that of the register currently in use. Thus if the current register for Section 42 applications had numbers between 1 and 1000, the new volume was to commence at number 2001. This ensured that all of these applications from the 1884 Land Act under Section 42 and its subsequent sections were registered in the one series. From the registers, and from other sources it is apparent that from c1910, the Occupation Branch were keeping their records on index cards rather than in the volumes used prior to then.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.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 xx of the Land Act 1884 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 1021/32 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 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 or lease 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.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.

VPRS 13384（Victorian Public Record Series，维多利亚公共记录系列）埃奇库姆申请登记簿，依据1884年与1890年《土地法》（Land Act）第42条、1898年《土地法》第44、59条以及1901年《土地法》第47、54条（职业分支（Occupation Branch）），由埃奇库姆地区办事处基于埃奇库姆申请登记簿创建，该登记簿对应VPRS 13385，由埃奇库姆地区测量局（Echuca District Survey Office）编制。VPRS 13384 / P1 最初登记为VPRS 142 / P《申请登记簿（1890年土地法）》的第11单元。1884年《土地法》第42条（1890年合并《土地法》予以确认）规定，向根据该法第32条承租放牧用地的承租人发放不超过320英亩的农业地块占用许可证。此前依据旧版土地法选定过该面积土地的人员不适用此条款；此前选定土地面积不足320英亩者，可补足至320英亩。租金定为每英亩每年1先令，持证人须在地块上居住并进行改良。许可证有效期内，王室可因若干指定用途收回土地并退还已缴租金，或若持证人未遵守许可证条款则收回土地。若遵守本条款及虫害防控、围栏相关要求，期限届满后可申请最长14年的租赁，租金仍为每英亩每年1先令；或可通过缴纳每英亩14先令的全额购置价款获得王室授产（Crown grant）。承租人可在14年租赁期内的任意时刻，通过补缴已缴租金与14先令/英亩固定价款的差额获得王室授产。1898年《土地法》第44条修订了本条，将农业地块许可划分为三类：一类土地许可面积不得超过200英亩，租金为每英亩每年1先令；二类土地许可面积不得超过320英亩，租金为每英亩每年9便士；两类土地的许可期限均不得超过6年。1898年《土地法》第58、59条将农业地块的许可与租赁条款扩展至放牧地块，其中第59条允许以每英亩每年6便士的租金对三类土地发放为期6年的许可。1901年合并《土地法》下，农业地块由第47条（许可）与第49条（租赁）规范，放牧地块则由第54条（许可）与第56条（租赁）规范。1899年，当局向各地区测量局发放新制式文书时要求，此类登记簿的申请编号需在当前在用登记簿的编号基础上，从整千数之后开始编排。例如，若当前第42条申请登记簿的编号范围为1至1000，则新登记簿需从2001号开始编排，以此确保1884年《土地法》第42条及其后续条款对应的所有申请均归入同一编号序列。从登记簿及其他来源可知，约1910年起，职业分支（Occupation Branch）开始使用索引卡留存记录，而非此前使用的簿册。当王室土地管理部门收到土地选拨申请后，会将其登记入申请登记簿。申请登记簿内容按字母顺序编排，申请编号按字母块连续分配。通常会依据申请人所依据的土地法条款单独设立申请登记簿，例如所有依据1884年《土地法》第xx条提交的申请均录入同一登记簿；较为小众的条款对应的申请则常合并录入同一登记簿。为合理化王室土地管理流程，1874年在助理测量总监H·拜伦·穆尔（H Byron Moore）的推动下设立了职业分支（Occupation Branch），负责所有与王室土地占用相关的事务。当时全州划分为15个土地地区，分别为：阿拉拉特、巴拉腊特、比奇沃斯、本纳拉、卡斯尔梅因与杜诺利、埃奇库姆、吉隆、沃南布尔与坎珀当、哈密尔顿、霍舍姆、墨尔本、塞尔与贝恩斯代尔、桑德赫斯特（本迪戈）、西摩与圣阿尔诺。每个地区均由驻墨尔本职业分支的“地区土地办事处”（District Land Office）负责对接。每个地区土地办事处设有双人办公桌，办事员与绘图员同时办公，档案、地图与规划文件均放置于随手可取之处。同一批工作人员负责从“立项到处置”全流程的王室土地售卖业务。办事处职员最初仅包含一名办事员与一名绘图员，专门负责对应土地地区的事务，需熟悉本地区情况并处理所有相关土地业务。至1877年，各地区土地办事处已配备地区官员、租金办事员、绘图员及若干普通办事员。1874年职业分支设立并完成全州土地地区划分后，申请按地区进行登记。每个“地区土地办事处”自行创建并维护专属的申请登记簿序列，1874年后王室土地管理部门收到的新申请均录入独立的地区登记簿，申请编号从1开始连续分配。不同地区可使用相同的申请编号，例如巴拉拉特与本迪戈土地地区均可存在申请编号1021/32。唯有地区名称搭配附带的文件编号，方可构成唯一标识符。申请人需在地区测量办事处填写申请表。多数土地地区均设有地区测量办事处，地区测量员会将申请人信息录入办事处留存的申请登记簿，并为每位申请人分配申请编号。该编号会标注在土地选拨申请表上，若申请获批，则成为该土地选拨的档案编号。地区测量员需在申请登记簿中记录以下内容：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、罗得、平方杆）。随后申请表会被转交至墨尔本职业分支对应的地区土地办事处，该处会以相同的申请编号将信息录入副本申请登记簿。地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标注在工作规划图上。随后描图会被送至矿产与供水部（Department of Mines and Water Supply，档案编号VA 2720），以获取矿业异议相关报告。若无矿业异议，申请将提交至地方土地委员会（Local Land Board）审理。地方土地委员会由当地社区代表与王室土地与测量部（Department of Crown Lands and Survey，档案编号VA 538）的代表组成，负责审理所有地块申请人的申请，并决定许可证或租赁的授予对象。记录地方土地委员会决议的清单会被转交至墨尔本职业分支对应的地区土地办事处，决议内容将录入申请登记簿。土地管理法定主管机构土地与工程委员会（Board of Land and Works，档案编号VA 744）会依据地方土地委员会的建议，对土地选拨申请作出最终批准。该委员会的决议同样会录入申请登记簿。登记簿还会记录许可证或租赁的签发日期，以及该档案后续的所有相关动作。获批选拨地块的选拨人信息会由职业分支地区土地办事处的绘图员标注在工作规划图上。申请地块的描图随后会被送至负责对应土地地区的王室土地执行官（Crown Land Bailiff）。申请登记簿管控选拨与占用档案。若王室土地选拨申请获批，申请编号即成为档案编号。例如，若依据1884年《土地法》第42条提交的申请登记编号为324，则该选拨或占用档案编号为324/42。若所有条款均得到遵守且最终获得王室授产，该申请编号将始终作为对应地块的选拨档案编号。然而，多数情况下最初的选拨人并未最终获得土地所有权：许多申请人因违约或放弃许可证/租赁而丧失资格，此时土地会重新开放供选拨。新申请人需以新的申请编号录入申请登记簿，原申请人的档案会附至新申请人的档案中，新档案编号会在登记簿中原申请人条目旁标注。即便同一申请人再次申请此前已被没收的土地，也会被分配新的申请编号，档案也将拥有新的选拨档案编号。