VPRS 441 Crown Land Occupation Files, Correspondence Series

Full description

This series consists of files relating to Crown land occupation in
- region 'J' (Western Victoria - mainly Ballarat and Geelong Land Districts),
- region 'H' and 'HO' (Eastern Victoria - originally taking in Seymour, Benalla and Beechworth Land Districts but eventually including Alexandra, Sale, Bairnsdale and Omeo Land Districts,
- region 'G' (Central - mainly the Melbourne Land District)
- region 'W' (Northern Victoria - the Bendigo, Castlemaine, Kerang and Echuca Land Districts) and
- region 'M '(North-Western Victoria - Mallee District).

Files consist of all correspondence relating to the matter being dealt with and may include official application forms and reports as well as letters. A number of files are to do with the temporary licensing of occupation and leasing of land under such sections as 145 and 142 Land Act 1901 (Sections 125 and 129 Land Acts 1915 and 1928). Others relate to requests to purchase land under such provisions as those relating to goldfields Residence Areas and those under Section 172 (Land Act 1915) to do with detached strips of land being sold at valuation. Other files relate to requests for the survey of land so a purchase might be made.

File numbers in this series relate to those given to pieces of correspondence upon their registration. If the correspondence related to previous transactions and ongoing matters, it was attached to the existing file. However, if the correspondence introduced a new matter or transaction or new aspects of an old matter a new file would be created being given the letter designation of the register of inward correspondence and the allocated registered number. This file number remained for any subsequent correspondence on the matter with an appropriate notation being made of its attachment to the file. The original file number would be placed on a map or parish plan at the location of the land. Evidence does exist that some pre-existing file numbers might have been converted to an alphanumeric one, possibly when file movement and markings cards were created in c. 1943.

The main exception to the process as described above is for the Eastern region of Victoria (the 'H' and 'HO' series). Evidence exists that the development described below was also the case for the area originally designated as 'Z' (the former Horsham, Hamilton and Stawell Land Districts). File numbers are no longer the same as correspondence numbers from c.1919. For the areas covered by the 'H' designation the correspondence was registered as before, but if a new file was required to be raised, it was registered in a file register (see VPRS 6574) with an alphanumeric number of originally 'H' and a consecutive number. From c1927 this became 'HO' and a consecutive number. This may be because of the need for consistency and efficiency when the same section of the organisation was dealing with matters from the Beechworth, Benalla, Seymour and Alexandra Districts and then also the Sale, Bairnsdale and Omeo Land Districts. These latter districts' correspondence was registered in 'T' series registers (see VPRS 14308) rather than in the 'H' series registers, but only one file series was required.