VPRS 626 Land Selection Files by Land District, Sections 19 and 20 Land Act 1869

Full description

Under section 19 of the Land Act 1869 selectors could apply for a three-year licence to occupy Crown land. The rent was set at two shillings per acre and a maximum of 320 acres per selector was allowed. On application a deposit of half a years rent was paid. If the application was refused, the deposit was refunded. Section 20 of the Act placed conditions on the three-year licence; selectors were required to improve their allotment by the erection of fencing and a dwelling, cultivation of their land and the destruction of vermin and noxious weeds. After the licence term had expired, the selector was eligible to apply for a seven-year lease or a Crown Grant to purchase their allotment. Grants or leases were only approved if improvement conditions had been met. If a selector opted for a seven-year lease, the yearly rent was used to pay off the purchase price of the land.

VPRS 626 Land Selection Files by Land District, sections 19 & 20 Land Act 1869 are the selection files created by the Occupation Branch of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538) after 1874 to document occupation of Crown land selected under section 19 and 20 of the Land Act 1869.

Selection files are files of leases or licences that terminated with the issue of a Crown Grant to the occupants. The files document the survey and occupation of land prior to its alienation (sale) from the Crown. For example, details of leases and licences, selection number, name of lessee, surveyors reports and correspondence. All selection files end with a Deed of Grant. The files usually contain in chronological order, an application for licence; an application for lease; an application for crown grant and finally alienation via a copy of the grant.

Selection file numbers appear as fractional numbers, the denominator being the section of the Land Act that the land was selected under and the numerator being the successive number in its class. For example file 2098/19 is the 2098th file created for land selected under the 19th section of the Land Act. After c. March 1874, and the establishment of the Occupation Branch, file numbers may be repeated across land districts. It is the district name along with the file number that is the unique identifier. Selection file numbers for land alienated from the Crown may be obtained from Parish and Township Plans. A Parish Plan shows each allotment for the parish. The plans record the name of the grantee, date of grant, the area, the allotment number and the file number.

Selection file numbers may also be obtained from registers of applications. Registers of applications control selection and occupation files. When an application to select Crown land was received by the Department it was registered in a register of applications. The register of applications allocated a number to each applicant that was written on the application to select which subsequently became their land selection file number if their application was approved. For example if an application to select under section 19 of the Land Act 1869 were registered as application number 324 then the selection or occupation file number would be 324/19.

Top-numbering

The application number remained the selection file number for a particular piece of land if all terms and conditions were met and the selection resulted in a Crown Grant. However, often the original selector did not end up owning the land. Many selectors forfeited or abandoned their licence. If this were the case then the land was re-opened up for selection. Any new applicants were registered in a register of applications under a new application number. The original selectors file was attached to the new applicants file. The new file number was annotated in the register against the original selectors entry.

Even if the same selector applied for a licence on land he had previously forfeited a new application number was allocated and the file would have a new selection file number.

Transfer of Leases

If the allotment was held under lease the ownership of the lease could be transferred without the need to open up the land for re-selection. The transfer of lease was managed by the Office of Titles (VA 2888) which sent a memo to the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538) informing them of the lease transfer. This memo was attached to the selection file. The transfer was not recorded in the register of applications.

A transfer of lease was recorded in the rent roll and a new entry made for the transferee. Rent rolls were administered by rental clerks at the Occupation Branch. The transfer was also recorded on the selection file. A new application was not required to transfer a lease; therefore the selection file number remained the same, as no new entry was made in a register of applications.

Changes in Administrative Arrangements in the Department in c. March 1874

The additional advantages provided to selectors as a result of the Land Act 1869 resulted in an exceptional number of applications to select Crown land. By 1873 the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538) was experiencing many problems in managing applications. Public complaints were at an all time high. The complaints ranged from extraordinarily long delays in application processing, applications being approved for more than one person on the same allotment and long delays in replying to correspondence.

In an attempt to try and rationalise the way the Department managed Crown land, the Occupation Branch was established in c. late March 1874 under the influence of H Byron Moore, Assistant Surveyor General. The Occupation Branch was to deal with all matters relating to the occupation of Crown land.

The State was divided into fifteen Land Districts, these being Ararat, Ballarat, Beechworth, Benalla, Castlemaine and Dunolly, Echuca, Geelong Warrnambool and Camperdown, Hamilton, Horsham, Melbourne, Sale and Bairnsdale, Sandhurst (Bendigo), Seymour and St Arnaud. Each District was represented at the Occupation Branch in Melbourne by a District Land Office.

Each District Land Office consisted of a double table or desk at which both a clerk and draughtsman sat. Everything in the way of files, maps and plans were at convenient reach. The same officers dealt with the sale of Crown land from its inception to its disposition. The District Offices' staff consisted essentially of a clerical officer and a draughtsman who dealt solely with that Land District. It was their business to know the District and to deal with all land business related to it. By 1877 each District Land Office consisted of a District Officer, a rental clerk, a draughtsman and several general clerks.