VPRS 1284 List of Lands Proclaimed for Selection, Hamilton District, Section 12 Land Act 1862

Part II of the Land Act 1862 allowed for the Sale of Lands by Selection. More than 10 million acres of land was reserved for proclamation as agricultural areas for residence and cultivation and not less than four million acres was to be available for selection within three months of the passing of the Act. Land was to be surveyed into lots of at least 40 acres and not more than 640 acres with each lot to be divided into two subdivisions. Selectors could purchase both subdivisions at the price of one pound per acre, or could purchase one subdivision and lease the other one. Persons holding occupation licenses under terms of the notices of 1861 had a pre-emptive right to select the land which they were occupying with the consent of the Board of Land and Works.Leases were to be for eight years at a rent of two and sixpence per acre or part of an acre with the lessee having a pre-emptive right of purchase. Selectors could not be infants or married women (unless they had obtained a judicial separation) and had to be resident in Victoria. No-one could select more than 640 acres in a year. Unselected land or land where leases were forfeited were to be sold at public auction. Conditions of the selection were that selectors would, within a year of the selection, cultivate one tenth of the land, or erect a habitable dwelling upon it or fence the land.Applications were to be made in the form set down in the Schedules to the Act in person at a land office and be accompanied by the purchase price of the whole lot or the purchase price for half and one years rent in advance for the other half. Applications were to be entered into a register, which was to be open to public inspection, by the land officer . The priority of the order of applications was to be determined by lot. Any refusal of an application was to be notified within thirty days in the Government Gazette with the reasons for refusal or disallowance being given.This series is probably either a register as defined by the Act or was created and maintained to record the details of selections made and the administrative decisions and actions taken subsequent to selections.Identified are the place of proclamation and the parish with the details of the sections, allotments and subdivisions available for selection. The date and time of the application were given with the names and addresses of purchasers and lessees and the amount paid for the land purchased. Details were also given of the extent of purchased land and of leasehold land and the amounts of rent to be paid for the latter. It must be noted that land might have been proclaimed as open for selection but was not necessarily selected. It is uncertain whether this record was created and maintained at Hamilton or in the Melbourne office of the Department.Details of lessees were entered into a Register of Lessees (see VPRS 1315/P Register of Lessees, Hamilton, Section 12 Land Act 1862 and Section 12 Amending Land Act 1865).This series was previously registered with the title Agricultural Lands for Selection, Land Act 1862. VPRS 1284 was reserialised in 2002. The former unit 1 is now 13094/P1 unit 1, the former unit 2 is now VPRS 1284/P unit 1, the former unit 3 is now VPRS 13096/P1 unit 1 and the former unit 4 is now VPRS 13095/P1 unit 1.

《1862年土地法》（Land Act 1862）第二部分允许通过选划方式售卖土地。彼时预留超1000万英亩土地，公告为供居住与耕作的农业区域，且该法通过后三个月内，至少有400万英亩土地可供选划。土地需被勘测划分为面积介于40英亩至640英亩之间的地块，每块地块再划分为两个子地块。选划人可按每英亩1英镑的价格同时购买两个子地块，也可仅购买一个子地块，再租赁另一个。根据1861年公告条款持有占用许可证的人员，经土地与工程委员会（Board of Land and Works）批准后，对其正在占用的土地享有优先选划权。租赁期限为8年，租金为每英亩2先令6便士，不足1英亩按比例计算，承租人享有优先购买权。选划人不得为未成年人或已婚女性（已获得司法分居者除外），且必须居住在维多利亚州（Victoria）。任何人一年内选划的土地不得超过640英亩。未被选划的土地或租赁被没收的土地，将通过公开拍卖方式售卖。选划的条件为：选划人需在选划后一年内，耕作该地块的十分之一土地，或在此搭建可居住的住宅，或对土地进行围栏。申请人需亲自前往土地办事处，提交按该法附表规定格式拟定的申请，并附上整块地块的购买价款，或购买半块地块的价款及另一半地块的1年预付租金。土地官员需将申请登记入册，该登记册需对公众开放查阅。申请的先后顺序将通过抽签决定。任何申请被驳回的，需在30日内于《政府公报》（Government Gazette）中公布，并说明驳回或不予批准的理由。本数据集系列大概率为该法所定义的登记册，或是为记录选划详情及选划后产生的行政决策与行动而编制并维护的。其中明确标注了公告区域的地点与教区（parish），以及可供选划的地块、分配单元与子地块的详细信息。申请的日期与时间、买受人与承租人的姓名及地址，以及已购土地的付款金额均有记录。同时还记载了已购土地与租赁土地的面积，以及租赁土地需支付的租金数额。需注意的是，土地虽可能被公告为可供选划，但未必会被实际选划。目前尚无法确定本记录是在哈密尔顿（Hamilton）编制维护，还是在墨尔本的部门办事处完成。承租人的详情已被记入《承租人登记册》（Register of Lessees，参见VPRS 1315/P《承租人登记册》，哈密尔顿，《1862年土地法》第12条及《1865年土地法修正案》第12条）。本数据集系列最初的登记标题为《1862年土地法项下供选划的农业用地》（Agricultural Lands for Selection, Land Act 1862）。VPRS 1284于2002年重新编号：原单元1现为13094/P1单元1，原单元2现为VPRS 1284/P单元1，原单元3现为VPRS 13096/P1单元1，原单元4现为VPRS 13095/P1单元1。