VPRS 706 Rent Rolls, Receiver and Paymaster, Shepparton

Full description

All licenses for the occupation of Crown lands and leases of Crown lands required the payment of rent in amounts and at intervals as stated by legislation or regulations made under the authority of legislation. Rents could be paid either by post or personally to the Melbourne office of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538) or to local Receivers and Paymasters as designated for each parish and Land District (subsequent to the formation of the Occupation Branch in c 1874). Receivers and Paymasters were often local Clerks of Courts.

Notifications of rents due at a particular date were circulated by notice or by lists published in the Government Gazette. The latter allowed local officers to be aware of the rents due in their areas. When the rents were paid to these officers, the payments were recorded in the local records and returns forwarded to the Department. Examples of these records may be seen in VPRS 809 Returns of Pastoral Rents Received.

Details given in the rent rolls are the name of the licensee or lessee, the details of the location and size of the land, details of the payments of fees and of the date and amount of regular periodic payments of rent. Remarks include details of subsequent purchase of the land, of any transfers of leases or licenses to other holders and the subsequent payments made by those persons, any cancellation or revocation or instances of abandonment of the land by the occupier.

Unit 1 was used to predominantly record rents paid under Section 20 Land Act 1878 and Section 44 Land Act 1890. Unit 2 had been used for multiple purposes and at some point has had several pages removed. it had been used for leases under the Land Act 1869 and was subsequently used for recording payments under Sections 145 (Miscellaneous licences to occupy) and 187 (grazing licences) Land Act 1901.