VPRS 22513 Maintenance Register, Neglected Children's Act

Full description

This series consists of a Maintenance Register from the Omeo Courts. Cases were heard under the Neglected Children's Act 1890.

There is only one entry in the register. It describes the amount of maintenance due from the child's father, and records any payments. 

Despite the register listing the court as 'Childrens Melbourne', the child lived in the town of Sunnyside and the register was held by the Court of Petty Sessions in Omeo. Since the closure of the original Omeo Courthouse, this register had been in the custody of the Omeo Historical Society before its transfer to PROV.

Maintenance for Deserted or Destitute Wives and Children

The Maintenance Act 1928 (Vic) and previous Marriages Acts established provisions for maintenance support to be provided by husbands who had left their wives or children without means of support. Courts of Petty Sessions were empowered to hear complaints regarding desertion and to set levels and enforce the payment of maintenance. Although the Maintenance Act 1965 (Vic) is still in force in Victoria, the Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 (Commonwealth) also has provision for the granting of maintenance and most orders are now made under this Act.

A different recordkeeping system applies to maintenance records under the Family Law Act.

Maintenance Registers

Successive Justices' Acts and, more recently, the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 (Vic) have required the clerk or registrar of the court to make and keep a register of all convictions, orders, and other proceedings of the court. This register is the authoritative record of the court. Most courts maintained a separate sequence of registers for maintenance matters, although the registers were in the same format as all other petty sessions court registers.

At most courts, Maintenance Registers were used to record three types of maintenance matters: applications for the court to set a level of maintenance, applications for the court to vary the level of maintenance, and enforcement applications, that is, where maintenance orders had been breached, maintenance recipients could seek a court order for payments to be made. Failure to comply resulted in the imprisonment of the defendant.

The Registers give details of:

• The names of the complainant (usually the wife)
• The defendant (usually the husband)
• The nature of the matter before the court (being an application for maintenance on the grounds of unlawful desertion, an application to vary maintenance or an application to recover maintenance arrears)
• The court's decision.

Each double page records information about maintenance payments and court proceedings relating to a single child whose name is written at the top of the left-hand page. Information recorded includes the name of the parent against whom the maintenance order was issued, amounts of payments and references to court proceedings. The register is a record of payments and amounts due and is not a certified record of court proceedings.