VPRS 13509 Register of Applications, Alexandra, Section 29 Land Act 1898 and Section 35 Land Act 1901 (Alexandra District Survey Office)

This series was created by the District Survey Office at Alexandra. It is duplicated by Register of Applications, Alexandra, Section 29 Land Act 1898 and Section 35 Land Act 1901 (Occupation Branch) (VPRS 13508) which is the register created by the 'Alexandra District Office' at the Occupation Branch.VPRS 13509 / P1 was previously registered as Unit 42 of VPRS 455 / P Application Registers, Land Act 1898.Section 29 of the Land Act 1898 (later Section 35 under the consolidated Land Act 1901) succeeded Section 32, Land Act 1884 as the means whereby grazing areas could be leased from the Crown. Land was able to be leased for any term until 29 December 1920 when the land would revert to the Crown. Land was divided into classes for the purpose of the lease. Two hundred acres of first-class land might be leased, 640 acres of second-class land, 1280 acres of third-class land and 1920 acres of fourth-class land. A permanent agricultural allotment could be selected from leaseholds of first and second-class land and a grazing allotment from third and fourth-class land.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 29 of the Land Act 1898 were recorded in the same register. Sections of an Act that were less common, however, were often recorded together 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 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 29 of the Land Act 1898 was registered as application number 324 then the selection or occupation file number would be 324/29.The application number remained the selection file number for a particular piece of land if all terms and conditions were met. 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.

本系列档案由亚历山德拉地区测量办事处（District Survey Office）编制。
本系列由亚历山德拉1898年《土地法》（Land Act 1898）第29条及1901年《土地法》（Land Act 1901）第35条（土地占用分部（Occupation Branch））相关申请登记簿（Register of Applications）（VPRS 13508）复制而来，该登记簿由土地占用分部的“亚历山德拉地区办事处”编制。
VPRS 13509/P1原登记为1898年《土地法》申请登记簿VPRS 455/P的第42单元。
1898年《土地法》第29条（后在1901年整合版《土地法》中更改为第35条）取代了1884年《土地法》（Land Act 1884）第32条，成为可从王室土地（Crown land）租赁牧场的法律依据。
此前土地可按任意期限租赁，直至1920年12月29日，届时土地将归还王室。
为便于租赁，土地被划分为不同等级：一等土地可租赁200英亩，二等土地640英亩，三等土地1280英亩，四等土地1920英亩。
可从一、二等土地的租赁地块中选取永久农业用地，从三、四等土地的租赁地块中选取牧场用地。
当部门收到王室土地租赁申请后，会将其登记入申请登记簿。申请登记簿按字母顺序编排，申请编号按字母表顺序依次分段连续分配。
通常会针对《土地法》中允许个人申请土地租赁的各条款分别设立申请登记簿。例如，所有依据1898年《土地法》第29条提交的申请均登记在同一登记簿中；而较为冷门的法律条款相关申请，则通常汇总登记在同一登记簿内。
为优化王室土地管理流程，在副总测量师H·拜伦·摩尔的推动下，部门于1874年设立土地占用分部，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：阿拉拉特、巴拉腊特、比奇沃思、贝纳拉、卡斯尔梅因与杜诺利、伊丘卡、吉隆-旺布拉姆布尔与坎珀当、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）、西摩和圣阿尔诺。每个辖区均在墨尔本的土地占用分部设有“地区土地办事处”作为其代表。
每个地区土地办事处设有双人工作台，供办事员与绘图员共同办公，各类档案、地图与图纸均放置在随手可取的位置。同一批办事人员负责从王室土地出让的起始到最终处置的全流程事务。
地区办事处的核心团队为仅负责对应土地管辖区事务的办事员与绘图员，其职责为熟悉辖区情况并处理所有相关土地业务。至1877年，每个地区土地办事处已配备地区官员、租赁办事员、绘图员及若干综合办事员。
1874年土地占用分部设立且全州划分为土地管辖区后，申请按辖区进行登记。每个“地区土地办事处”均创建并维护自身的申请登记簿系列。1874年后部门收到的所有新申请均登记在独立的辖区登记簿中，申请编号从1开始依次分配。不同辖区可使用相同的申请编号，例如巴拉腊特与本迪戈土地管辖区均可存在申请编号1021/32。唯有辖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。多数土地管辖区均设有地区测量办事处，地区测量员会将申请人的详细信息登记在办事处留存的申请登记簿中，并为每位申请人分配申请编号。申请编号会标注在租赁申请文件上，若申请获批，该编号将成为申请人的土地租赁档案编号。
地区测量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、申请地块编号及面积（英亩、罗得与平方杆）。随后，申请文件会被转交至墨尔本土地占用分部对应的地区土地办事处，并以相同的申请编号登记在该处的申请副本登记簿中。同时，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绘制在工作规划图上。随后，地块描图会被送交矿产与供水部（VA 2720），以获取是否存在矿业异议的报告。若无矿业异议，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（VA 538）的代表组成，委员会会听取所有地块申请人的陈述，并裁定准予租赁许可的人选。记录地方土地委员会决议的清单会被转交至墨尔本土地占用分部对应的地区土地办事处，并将决议录入申请登记簿。
作为王室土地管理的法定主管机构，土地工程委员会（VA 744）会依据地方土地委员会的推荐，对土地租赁申请作出最终批复。土地工程委员会的决议会被录入申请登记簿，登记簿同时还会记录租赁许可的签发日期及该档案后续的所有相关操作。获批租赁地块的申请人信息，会由土地占用分部地区土地办事处的绘图员标注在工作规划图上。随后，地块描图会被送交负责对应土地管辖区的王室土地执行官。
申请登记簿管控着租赁与占用档案。若王室土地租赁申请获批，申请编号将成为档案编号。例如，若依据1898年《土地法》第29条提交的租赁申请登记编号为324，则该租赁或占用档案的编号将为324/29。
若所有条款均得到履行，申请编号将作为对应地块的租赁档案编号持续有效。许多申请人会因违约或主动放弃而丧失租赁许可。在此情况下，该地块将重新开放租赁，新申请人将以新的申请编号登记入申请登记簿，原申请人的档案会附在新申请人的档案之后，同时登记簿中原申请人的条目旁会标注新的档案编号。
即便原申请人就其此前已被没收的土地再次申请租赁许可，仍会被分配新的申请编号，档案也将使用新的租赁档案编号。