Rural Finance and Settlement Commission

Full description

The Rural Finance and Settlement Commission was established in 1962 and assumed the powers and functions of the former Soldier Settlement Commission (VA 2270) and the Rural Finance Corporation (VA 2272). To achieve this, two distinct branches were created - the Settlement Branch and the Finance Branch.

The former Crown land area of Heytesbury became the Rural Finance and Settlement Commission's major project for civilian land settlement. The first section of the Heytesbury settlement was officially opened in late 1959, by which time it was no longer part of the Soldier Settlement Scheme, having been formally transferred for civilian settlement under the Land Settlement Act. There were 88,000 acres that had been formally transferred for civilian settlement by the end of 1961, some of which had been originally developed and funded originally through the Commonwealth's Special Advance for Soldier Settlement. During the 1960s two other settlements, at Rochester and in the East Goulburn Irrigation Area, were developed by the Rural Finance and Settlement Commission under the Land Settlement Act.

In 1977 the Rural Finance and Settlement Commission became the Rural Finance Commission (VA 1073), with continued responsibility for the administration of soldier settlement legislation.