AGY-3566 | Estates Branch [Department of Railways]

Full description

The Estates Branch appears to have commenced on 1 February 1890 when John Vernon was 'promoted' from the office of Assistant Accountant to become 'Estate Agent' in the Properties and Estates branch. (1) For most of its history its senior official was an Estate Agent. The role of the branch was to purchase, manage and when necessary dispose of properties acquired by the Railway Commissioners and their successors. Much of its work involved issuing and maintaining leases for and managing Railway Refreshment Rooms and the branch was sometimes known as Estates and Refreshment Rooms Branch. In 1924 (?) the senior management reporting to the Estate Agent were the Assistant Estate Agent who was responsible for a section known as 'country and rates' and the Chief Clerk who was responsible for records and resumed offices. The other major branches were lands, metropolitan, accounts, Refreshment Room Operations and Refreshment Rooms. The refreshment room administration was the most complex. The senior staff were Chief Inspector and Outdoor manager. There was some regional administration of the rooms which were conducted at Sydney Central Station; Metropolitan (8 locations) Southern Country (16 locations) western country (12 locations) and northern country (16 locations). (2) The Estates Branch worked co-operatively with the Legal Branch which drafted appropriate legal instruments, assisted in litigation and in other ways. By July 1947 the two branches combined to become the Legal and Estates Branch. (3) End notes: (1) SRNSW: NRS 15070/1/20 p. 43 (2) SRNSW: NRS 15741/1/11 (3) SRNSW: NRS 15741/1/26