VPRS 6485 Shire Sustenance Cash Book

Full description

With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, governments were forced to take measures to provide for the sustenance of the vast numbers of the unemployed and their dependants. With the Unemployment Relief (Administration) Act 1932 (No.4079) the State Government legislated for the system of sustenance whereby payments of relief were to be made locally and recipients were required to in exchange, compulsorily provide labour for public works.

Funds were to be administered by a public assistance committee. The primary responsibility for the formation of this committee was given to municipalities with the council of every municipality able to appoint for its municipal district a committee with not more than two thirds of the members of the committee to be members of the council (S11). These committees were permitted to form sub-committees for the purpose of carrying out their tasks. Work in return for sustenance was to be by writing under the hand of the municipal clerk of the municipality concerned.

Records in this series provide summaries of the Shire Sustenance Account with the lefthand side of a double page showing receipts from the Treasury and vouchers and the right showing expenditure. This consisted primarily of disbursements to Sustenance Committees at places other than Berwick within the shire such as Nar Nar Goon, Gembrook, Cockatoo, Pakenham and Pakenham Upper, Tynong, Emerald and Upper Beaconsfield. Some disbursements to individuals may have been reimbursements for their expenditure in the course of carrying out Committee duties

Payments to this and other Municipal Relief Committees can be found in VPRS 11330 Cash Books: Expenditure [Consolidated Revenue] for the period 1931 1942.

In 2001 VPRS 6485 was reserialised as described in the table below as part of the ARAD Project.

VPRS 6485/P Unit 1 to VPRS 6485 /P Unit 1
VPRS 6485/P Unit 3 to VPRS 6485 /P Unit 2
VPRS 6485/P Unit 2 to VPRS 12382 /P1 Unit 1
VPRS 6485/P Unit 4 to VPRS 12382 /P1 Unit 2
VPRS 6485/P Unit 6 to VPRS 12382 /P1 Unit 3
VPRS 6485/P Unit 7 to VPRS 12382 /P1 Unit 4