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VPRS 305 Court Of Petty Sessions Cause List Books
No full text<br/>Courts of Petty Sessions (now known as Magistrates' Courts) dealt with a very large range of "minor" court matters. Cases were heard in three jurisdictions: criminal, civil, and licensing. In the nineteenth century they provided the lowest level of redress in civil and criminal matters. The County Court and the Supreme Court heard and determined more serious criminal cases and larger civil disputes. The licensing jurisdiction included both liquor and non-liquor licensing matters until 1886 when separate liquor Licensing Courts were established.<br/><br/>Successive Justices Acts required clerks of Petty Sessions to keep a record of all decisions and orders made by Courts of Petty Sessions. This record is the authoritative record of the court. Until about 1888, volumes used for this purpose were called Cause List Books (a cause meaning a case). Most Courts of Petty Sessions dealt with criminal, civil and licensing matters as they arose. Accordingly, Cause List Books generally give details of all these types of cases. Only the largest and busiest courts recorded civil, criminal and licensing matters separately.<br/><br/>Cause List Books are generally in a common format. At the top of each page are recorded details of the name of the court, the date of sitting and the name of the Chairman of the court and other presiding officer(s). For each case heard, details are given of the name of the complainant, defendant, any fees to be paid, the cause (ie the criminal charge or the nature of the civil claim), the decision and any remarks. The remarks column was sometimes used to record the payment of fines or fees. In order to authenticate entries made in the Cause List Book the presiding officer(s) of the court signed it at the end of each day
VPRS 9860 Outward Letter Book (Board of Advice No.316)
No full text<br/>This series comprises a volume which contains letter press copies of correspondence sent by Board of Advice No 316. This particular Board pertained to a school district which included the Box Creek (later known as Leitchville) (No. 2087) and Lake Charm (No. 2122) Primary Schools.<br/><br/>The subject matter of these letters varies, but the correspondence chiefly relates to the exercise of the Boards powers under Section 15 the Education Act 1872. These powers included responsibility for determining and reporting on the use of school buildings on non school days/hours, the condition of school buildings and premises, school requirements and attendance of local children at the schools. Most of the letters were sent to the Education Department; all were signed by the Board Correspondent.<br/><br/>The existence of volumes pre or post dating the records in custody is unknown
VPRS 7178 Petty Sessions Registers (see Microfilm Copy, VPRS 7352)
No full textPetty Sessions Registers (see Microfilm Copy, VPRS 7352
VPRS 962 Outward Letter Books (Colonial Engineer) to the Colonial Secretary
No full textThe first Clerk of Works, responsible for the construction, maintenance, rental and furnishing of public buildings was appointed in 1837. This office continued to be responsible for these functions until 1851 and separation from New South Wales, when the former Clerk of Works, Henry Ginn, became Colonial Architect. By October 1852 a Colonial Engineer had been appointed and appears to have exercised joint responsibility with the Colonial Architect for the construction, maintenance, rental and furnishings of public buildings and was responsible for roads and bridges and other public works with the Superintendent of Bridges. An amalgamation of the functions of the Colonial Architect and of the Colonial Engineer occurred by 1854 with the position of Colonial Architect no longer existing. The Colonial Engineer and the Central Road Board (VA 2803) continued as the major public works authorities until the appointment of the Commissioner of Public Works in 1855<br/><br/>This series contains the outwards correspondence of the Colonial Engineer addressed to the Colonial Secretary. Matters included requests for authorisation to pay vouchers, reports on potential building sites, the progress of current projects and proposals for future works.<br/><br/>The former unit 3 of this series is now registered as VPRS 12114 Outward Letter Book (Colonial Engineer) and the former Unit 4 is now registered as VPRS 12115 Outward Correspondence (Colonial Engineer) (1853-1854); Summary of Works (1856-1857). Both these series provide copies of the other more general correspondence of the Colonial Engineer with other Government Departments and officials, contractors and subordinates
VPRS 15414 Inward Correspondence Files
No full textThis series comprises files containing inward letters filed chronologically. The relationship of this series to VPRS 14301 General Correspondence Files, Alphbetical is not known
VPRS 1234 Works Committee Report Books
No full textThis series comprises bound volumes containing reports to the Council from the Works Committee.<br/><br/>There are no volumes in custody for the period October 1895 - December 1938
VPRS 4778 Court of Insolvency Register
No full textThe role of the Insolvency Court was to:<br/><br/>- hear and determine Orders of Sequestration<br/>- monitor the implementation of Orders of Sequestration<br/>- grant Certificates of Discharge certifying that the insolvent had fulfilled the obligations of the Order.<br/><br/>An Order of Sequestration was the order made by the Court of Insolvency temporarily giving control of an insolvent person's property to one or more other people. These people were called assignees or trustees and were usually a court official. They were responsible for determining how an insolvent person's property and assets should be distributed between his or her creditors. Sequestration could be voluntary, that is, a person could come before the Court and declare themselves insolvent or it could be compulsory, that is, one or more of a person's creditors could petition the Court for an Order.<br/><br/>Between 1871 and 1928 (when responsibility for insolvency passed to the Commonwealth), the Law Department instructed Clerks of Courts of Insolvency to keep an Insolvency Court Register. Insolvency Court Registers were used to record the court's decision with regard to an application for an Order of Sequestration and related court orders.<br/><br/>For each application for an Order of Sequestration the following details could be recorded in the Court Register: the name, address and occupation of the insolvent or debtor and the name of his or her Attorney; the date of filing of the application; the name and date of appointment of the assignee or trustee; details of any further court sittings, including the granting of a Certificate of Discharge; details of notices and returns which were required to be sent to the Chief Clerk of the Court of Insolvency in Melbourne and the Registrar-General and details of the publication of notice of the Order of Sequestration in the Government Gazette
VPRS 316 Court Of Petty Sessions Cause List Book (1872 - 1880); Suitors Cash Book (1902 - 1927); Correspondence And Legal Process (1860 - 1890).
No full text<br/>This series consists of :<br/><br/>Court of Petty Sessions Cause List Books 1872 1880 ( for a description see VPRS 1389)<br/><br/>Court of Petty Sessions Suitors Cash Book 1902 1927 (for a description see VPRS 6250)<br/><br/>Court of Petty Sessions Correspondence and Legal Process 1860 1890.<br/><br/>Subject to further research
VPRS 11646 Court of Petty Sessions Adoption of Children Register
No full textThe adoption of children was first regulated by legislation with the commencement of the Adoption of Children Act 1928. This Act established adoption as a legal transfer of custody and of parental responsibility, and gave responsibility for making adoption orders to the courts. Prior to this time, adoptions were informal arrangements often made by private infants' homes.<br/><br/>Under the 1928 Act an adoption application could be heard by the Supreme Court, County Court or Court of Petty Sessions. The choice of court depended upon the circumstances of the case and the wishes of the parties:<br/><br/>* The Supreme Court could grant an adoption order in any circumstance<br/><br/>* The County Court could grant an adoption order in any circumstance if the applicant(s) (ie the prospective adoptive parent(s)) chose to use this avenue<br/><br/>* The Court of Petty Sessions closest to where either the applicant(s) or the child resided could grant an adoption order if several parties gave their written consent to the adoption, namely:<br/>- The child's natural parent(s) or guardian(s)<br/>- The person having custody of the child<br/>- Any person liable to contribute to the support of the child<br/>- Where the applicant was married, the applicant's spouse.<br/><br/>If the consent of any of these persons could not be obtained in writing, a higher court had to be used.<br/><br/>This system remained in place until the passing of the Adoption of Children Act 1958 which removed the jurisdiction of the Court of Petty Sessions to grant adoption orders. Since that time the County and Supreme Courts have had the power to grant adoption orders, although in practice most have been granted by the County Court.<br/><br/>Court of Petty Sessions Adoption Registers<br/><br/>Between the years 1928 and 1958, Courts of Petty Sessions maintained Adoption Registers to record the details of adoption applications and decisions made by the court. Only adoption applications heard by the Court of Petty Sessions were recorded in these registers; many orders were heard by the County Court