VPRS 13464 Register of Applications, Stawell, Section 42 Land Act 1884 and 1890, Sections 44 and 59 Land Act 1898 and Sections 47 and 54 Land Act 1901(Occupation Branch)

This series was created by the 'Stawell District Office' at the Occupation Branch of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538). It is duplicated by VPRS 13465 Register of Applications, Stawell, Section 42 Land Act 1884 and 1890, Sections 44 and 59 Land Act 1898 and Sections 47 and 54 Land Act 1901(Stawell District Survey Office) which is the register created by the District Survey Office in Stawell.VPRS 13464 / P1 was previously registered as Unit 105 of VPRS 458 / P Application Registers, Land Act Unknown and Unit 53 of VPRS 455 / P Applications Register, Land Act 1898.VPRS 13464 / P2 was previously registered as Unit 154 of VPRS 458 / P Applications Registers, Land Act Unknown. It is closed to public inspection under Section 11 of the Public Records Act 1973.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 sequence. 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 42 of the Land Act 1884 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 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 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.

本系列档案由王室土地与测量部（Department of Crown Lands and Survey）职业分支的「斯图尔区办公室（Stawell District Office）」创建（档案标识为VA 538）。其副本收录于VPRS 13465《斯图尔申请登记簿》，涵盖1884年及1890年《土地法》第42条、1898年《土地法》第44、59条以及1901年《土地法》第47、54条（斯图尔区测量办公室），该登记簿由斯图尔区测量办公室编制。VPRS 13464 / P1原登记为VPRS 458 / P《未知土地法申请登记簿》第105单元，以及VPRS 455 / P《1898年土地法申请登记簿》第53单元。VPRS 13464 / P2原登记为VPRS 458 / P《未知土地法申请登记簿》第154单元。该档案根据《1973年公共档案法》第11条规定，不对公众开放查阅。1884年《土地法》第42条（经1890年合并版《土地法》确认）规定，向牧区承租人（依据该法第32条）发放许可证，允许其承租面积不超过320英亩的农业地块。依据此前《土地法》申领过该面积土地的人员，不得享受本条款优惠；申领面积不足320英亩者，可申领补足至320英亩所需的土地。租金定为每英亩每年1先令，承租人须在该地块居住并进行土地改良。在许可证有效期内，王室可因若干特定用途收回土地，并退还已缴租金；若未遵守许可证条款，王室亦可收回土地。若在许可证期满时遵守了本条款及虫害防治、围栏管理相关规定，承租人可申请为期最长14年的租赁，租金仍为每英亩每年1先令；亦可通过缴纳每英亩14先令的全额购置价款，直接申领王室土地产权证。承租人可在这14年租期内的任意时间，通过补缴已缴租金与每英亩14先令固定购置价款之间的差额，申领王室土地产权证。本条款经1898年《土地法》第44条修订，将农业地块许可证发放相关的土地划分为三类。一等土地的许可证发放面积不得超过200英亩，租金为每英亩每年1先令；二等土地的许可证发放面积不得超过320英亩，租金为每英亩每年9便士。两类土地的许可证有效期均不得超过6年。1898年《土地法》第58、59条规定，将农业地块的许可证发放与租赁条款扩展至牧区地块。此外，第59条允许以每英亩每年6便士的租金，对三等土地发放为期6年的许可证。根据1901年合并版《土地法》，农业地块的管理依据第47条（许可证发放）与第49条（租赁），牧区地块则依据第54条（许可证发放）与第56条（租赁）。1899年，王室土地与测量部向各地区测量办公室发放新文具时附带指示：各登记簿的申请编号应从当前在用登记簿编号之后的整千数开始。例如，若当前第42条申请登记簿的编号范围为1至1000，则新登记簿的起始编号应为2001。此举可确保1884年《土地法》第42条及其后续条款项下的所有申请，均按统一序列登记。从该登记簿及其他来源可知，约1910年起，职业分支开始使用索引卡片记录档案，而非此前使用的卷宗。当部门收到申领王室土地的申请后，会将其登记在申请登记簿中。申请登记簿按字母顺序排列，申请编号按字母表顺序连续分段分配。通常会依据申请人可申领土地所依据的《土地法》条款，分别创建申请登记簿。例如，所有依据1884年《土地法》第42条提交的申请，均登记在同一登记簿中。但较为少见的《土地法》条款项下的申请，通常会合并登记在同一登记簿中。为合理化王室土地管理流程，1874年在助理测量总长（Assistant Surveyor General）H·拜伦·摩尔（H Byron Moore）的推动下，职业分支正式成立，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个土地区，分别为：阿拉拉特、巴拉瑞特、比奇沃斯、贝纳拉、卡斯尔梅因与邓诺利、伊丘卡、吉隆-瓦南布尔与坎珀当、汉密尔顿、霍舍姆、墨尔本、赛尔与拜恩斯代尔、桑德赫斯特（本迪戈）、西摩与圣阿诺德。每个土地区在墨尔本的职业分支设有一名「地区土地办公室」代表。每个地区土地办公室设有双人工作台，供办事员与绘图员共同办公，文件、地图与规划均放置在随手可取之处。同一批工作人员负责从「立项到处置」的全部王室土地售卖流程。地区办公室的人员编制通常为一名办事员与一名绘图员，专门负责对应土地区的事务，他们需熟悉本区情况并处理所有相关土地业务。至1877年，每个地区土地办公室的编制已增至：一名地区官员、一名租金办事员、一名绘图员与若干普通办事员。1874年职业分支成立并将全州划分为土地区后，申请按地区进行登记。每个「地区土地办公室」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，均登记在独立的地区登记簿中，申请编号从1开始连续分配。不同土地区可使用相同的申请编号，例如，巴拉瑞特与本迪戈土地区均可存在申请编号1021/32。唯有结合地区名称与附带的档案编号，方可成为唯一标识符。申请人须在地区测量办公室填写申请表格。多数土地区均设有地区测量办公室，地区测量员会将申请人信息登记在地区测量办公室留存的申请登记簿中，并为每位申请人分配申请编号。申请编号会标注在申领申请上，若申请获批，该编号即成为其土地申领档案编号。地区测量员会在申请登记簿中录入：申请编号、申请接收日期、申请人姓名、职业与教区、申请地块编号与面积（英亩、路得与平方杆）。随后，申请将被转交至墨尔本职业分支对应的地区土地办公室，该办公室会以相同的申请编号，将申请录入副本申请登记簿中。地区测量员还需转交申请地块的测绘描图。申请地块的位置会立即用铅笔标注在工作规划图上。随后，测绘描图将被送交矿业与供水部（VA 2720），以获取矿业异议报告。若无矿业异议，申请将提交至地方土地委员会听证。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，并决定向哪位申请人发放许可证或租赁协议。记录地方土地委员会决议的清单，将被送交至墨尔本职业分支对应的地区土地办公室，决议内容将录入申请登记簿中。土地管理法定主管部门土地与工程委员会（VA 744）会依据地方土地委员会的推荐，对土地申领作出最终批准。土地与工程委员会的决议将被录入申请登记簿中。登记簿还会记录许可证或租赁协议的发放日期，以及该档案后续的所有相关动作。获批申领该地块的申请人信息，将由墨尔本职业分支的地区土地办公室绘图员标注在工作规划图上。申请地块的测绘描图随后将被送交至负责对应土地区的王室土地法警。申请登记簿管控着申领与占用档案。若申领王室土地的申请获批，申请编号将成为档案编号。例如，若依据1884年《土地法》第42条提交的申领申请登记为编号324，则该申领或占用档案的编号为324/42。若所有条款均得到遵守且申领最终获得王室土地产权证，申请编号将始终作为特定地块的申领档案编号。但通常情况下，最初的申领人最终并不会拥有该土地。许多申领人会丧失或放弃其许可证或租赁协议。若出现此类情况，该土地将重新开放申领。新申请人将被分配新的申请编号，登记在申请登记簿中。原申请人的档案将附在新申请人的档案之后。新档案编号会在登记簿中原申请人条目旁标注。即便同一申领人就此前丧失的土地再次申请许可证，也会被分配新的申请编号，其档案将拥有新的申领档案编号。