VPRS 8306 Estray Plan Registers and Lists of Plans

Full description

These series consists of Lands Department plan registers that were transferred to archives from locations other than the Lands Department. Most of the records in this series relate to plans that are found in VPRS 8168 Historic Plan Collection.

P1 consignment

This consignment consists of three estray plan registers and a folder of miscellaneous lists of plans and correspondence. The records were located in the backlog estray section of Context Control prior to registration, it is not known by whom, when, or how they were transferred to the custody of the Public Record Office. The date range for the series has been imputed from the collective contents date ranges of the individual units.

Unit 1

Volume 1 has an index to contents at the front of the volume. This volume covers plans from the following sub-collections :
Coast Surveys
Railways
Pre-Emptive Rights
New Roads
Sydney Plans
Special Surveys
Melbourne Plans
Roll Plans
Run Plans
all of which form part of the Historic Plan Collection (VPRS 8168).

Each section relating to the different sub-collections is arranged differently.

The Coast Surveys section is arranged in plan number order and gives details of the locality covered.

The Railway plans section is arranged sequentially by plan number and gives details of the area/locality covered.

The Pre-Emptive Rights section is divided into alphabetical sections by name of the pastoral run, each plan is then numbered sequentially within its alpha section. The name of the grantee and the county are also noted. An index to the Pre-Emptive Right plans by name of Crown Grantee is located at the front of this volume.

The New Roads section is arranged in alpha sections by name of locality and in rough chronological order by plan number. The first column records the plan number (which is not allocated sequentially within each alpha section but throughout the whole sub-collection); the second column contains a "fraction" the top number of which represents the year(s) the plan was created. It is unclear what the bottom number represents; the third column contains a description of the area covered by the road; the fourth column gives the name of the surveyor.

The Sydney Plans section is arranged in alpha sections according to the parish name. Each plan has a sequential plan number within each alpha section. Details of the parish and the name of the surveyor and the date the survey was taken are also recorded. Markings in red ink indicate whether the particular plan was transferred to the Special Surveys sub-collection, or if and when the plan was transferred to the Public Library.

The Special Surveys section is arranged sequentially by plan number.

The Melbourne plans section is arranged sequentially by plan number.

The Roll Plans section is divided into alpha sections by locality/area, plans are listed sequentially within each section by plan number.

The Run Plans section is arranged alphabetically by pastoral run name.


Volume 2 is entitled "Miscellaneous" and covers the following sub-collections.

New Roads
Pre-Emptive Rights
Electric Telegraph Lines
River Murray
Coliban, Loddon and Yarra Creeks
Loddon, Yarra and Dividing Range
Gippsland rivers and creeks
Wimmera rivers, creeks, tracks and roads
Glenelg and Hopkins rivers
Southern Owens and Campaspe rivers
Grantees Names, Pre-Emptive Rights
Cemeteries
Churches
Schools
Police, Goals and Camp Reserves
Water Works
Features Survey
Sydney Plans
Proclaimed Roads
Old Roads
Goldfields
Railways
Melbourne District etc
Geodetic Squares
Lithos in stock
Plans Miscellaneous Coast Surveys
Rail Plans (surplus duplicate copies)
Miscellaneous maps, plans and surveys
Miscellaneous maps, plans etc. rolled
Explorers Tracks
Both these plan registers provide evidence that the system of arrangement/control used for the Historic Plan Collection (VPRS 8168) is traditional. Though these registers do not provide an up-to-date reference to all the plans in the Collection, they can still be used to access those plans they refer to because the sub-collections and plan registration numbers do not appear to have changed. However researchers will find VPRS 8164 Register of Historic Plan Collection (Computer Output Microfiche) much more useful and easier to use in locating and retrieving Historic Plan Collection material.


Unit 2 contains a volume entitled "List of Plans in the Surveyor-General's Office". This record would appear to have been used for "stocktake" purposes as it lists plans in existence in the various locations of the office.

Folio 23 clearly states that this volume records all plans in use up to May 30 1856. However the following pages are used to record details of plans for 1857.

The volume also contains loose leaf copies of "Regulations for the Governance of the Original Plan Room" for 1865 and 1878.

Unit 2 also contains a mixture of correspondence and lists of plans. The correspondence is a letter from the Surveyor-General, NSW to the Surveyor-General of Victoria (inward correspondence registration number 55/10537, date received 24 October 1855) regarding the return of plans from the Sydney survey office to Victoria and enclosing a list of such plans. These plans make up the "Sydney Plans" sub-collection of the Historic Plan Collection (VPRS 8168). The lists span the period 1855 to 1942. This file also contains two draft personal letters.

P2 Consignment

The P2 consignment was previously held by the University of Melbourne Archives and returned to public custody in April 2006. it consists of volumes listing the plans held by the Central Plan Office of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey at a particular point in time.

Details given re the name of the parish or the area type (eg Aboriginal reserves or Agricultural Areas) and a list of related plans giving the original date of the plan, the current number and a description or title of the plan. Plans may have alphabetical designators. Further research is required into the significance and meaning of these.