VPRS 17028 Register Book of Mining Titles

Full description

This series was created to register a mining lease over Crown land, granted after 2 October 1862, into the Torrens system of land registration. Mining Leases were prepared and executed by the Mines Department and sent to the Office of the Registrar of Titles for registration into the Torrens system land Register for the issuing of a land title. Also, each transfer, sub-lease, mortgage or encumbrance of a lease was registered in the Office of the Registrar of Titles.

All land alienated by the Crown in Victoria after 1862 comes under the operation of the Transfer of Land Act that is the Torrens System of Land registration. Mines and minerals were included in the meaning of the word land in Victoria.

The Registrar of Titles, under the provisions of Section 5 (1) of the Transfer of Land Act (1958), is responsible for registration and management of land titles in Victoria under the Torrens system. A land title is an official record about who owns or leases a piece of land in Victoria. Generally speaking there are two types of land titles under this act in Victoria - Freehold land and Leasehold land.
There are two types of Leaseholds in the land Register, one type is Crown Leases which enables exclusive use of Crown land for a specific term and purpose. The second type are Mining leases, that relate to the mining of Crown land.

There were two types of mining leases registered by the Mines Department - gold mining leases and mineral leases. The distinction between gold mining and mineral lease apparently ceased around 1972 when they all became known as mining leases.

As the definition of land includes mines and minerals, the Crown alienates the mines and minerals quite separately. When the Governor-in Council decides to grant a mining lease to a particular applicant, a Crown grant of the minerals is issued for a term of years to the lessee.

The Crown grant, in the form of the mining lease, is registered by the Registrar of Titles. The mining lease is given a volume and folio number by the Registrar. Registration of a Crown grant takes place when the Registrar notifies the Mines Department of the volume and the folio number of the land Register in which it is entered. The original Crown grant, that is the mining lease, is filed in the Register Book (this series) and the duplicate is returned to the Mines Department.

The content of this series includes the original Mining Lease (with plan) which was prepared and executed by the Mines Department.

Records created by the Mines Department included Register and Index to Application for Leases and Lease Plans.