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VPRS 13390 Register of Applications, Bendigo, Section 42 Land Acts 1884 and 1890, Sections 44 and 59 Land Act 1898 and Sections 47 and 54 Land Act 1901 (Occupation Branch)
No full textThis series was created by the 'Bendigo District Office' at the Occupation Branch of the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538). It is duplicated by Register of Applications, Bendigo, Section 42 Land Acts 1884 and 1890, Sections 44 and 59 Land Act 1898 and Sections 47 and 54 Land Act 1901 (Bendigo District Survey Office) (VPRS 13391) which is the register created by the District Survey Office in Bendigo<br/><br/>VPRS 13390 / P1 was previously registered as Unit 2 of VPRS 148 / P Application Registers Land Acts 1884 - 1890 and Units 109 and 260 of VPRS 458 / P Application Registers, Land Act Unknown.<br/><br/>Section 42 of the Land Act 1884 (as confirmed in the consolidated Land Act 1890) provided for the issue to grazing area lessees (under Section 32 of the same Act) of licences to occupy for agricultural allotments not exceeding 320 acres in extent. Persons who had selected that amount of land under previous Land Acts were not eligible for this provision. Those who had selected less than the 320 acres could select the amount of land necessary to make it up to 320 acres.<br/><br/>Rent was set at one shilling per acre per annum with the licensee to reside on the allotment and make improvements to it. During the period of this license the land could be resumed by the Crown for a number of specified purposes with the repayment of any rentals or if the terms of the license were not complied with. If these conditions and conditions relating to the control of vermin and fencing were complied with at the end of this time, a lease for up to 14 years was able to be applied for at the rental of one shilling per acre per annum or a Crown grant could be obtained by the payment of the full purchase price of fourteen shillings per acre. Lessees could obtain a Crown grant at any time during this fourteen year period by the payment of the difference between the rent already paid under the lease and the set price of fourteen shillings per acre.<br/><br/>This Section was amended in Section 44 of the Land Act 1898 to divide lands into three classes for the purpose of the licensing of these agricultural allotments. No more than 200 acres of first-class lands were to be licensed at the rent of one shilling per acre per annum; no more than three hundred and twenty acres of second-class land at the annual rental of ninepence per acre. Both types of land were to be licensed for no more than six years. In the 1898 Act, Sections 58 and 59 provided for the extension of the licensing and leasing provisions for agricultural allotments to grazing allotments. In addition, Section 59 allowed the licensing of third-class land for a period of six years for sixpence per acre per annum. Under the consolidated Land Act of 1901, agricultural allotments were dealt with under Sections 47 (licensing) and 49 (leasing) and grazing allotments by Sections 54 (licensing) and Section 56 (leasing).<br/><br/>Instructions were given, with the issue of new stationery to District Survey Offices in 1899, that the numbers allocated for applications in these books were to commence at the whole thousand after that of the register currently in use. Thus if the current register for Section 42 applications had numbers between 1 and 1000, the new volume was to commence at number 2001. This ensured that all of these applications from the 1884 Land Act under Section 42 and its subsequent sections were registered in the one register. From the registers, and from other sources it is apparent that from c1910, the Occupation Branch were keeping their records on index cards rather than in the volumes used prior to then.<br/><br/>When an application to select Crown land was received by the Department it would be registered in a register of applications. The contents of registers of applications were arranged alphabetically and application numbers were allocated consecutively in blocks for each letter of the alphabet.<br/><br/>Separate registers of applications were usually created for each section of the Land Act under which individuals could apply to select land. For example, all applications received under section 42 of the Land Act 1884 were recorded in the same register. Sections of an Act that were less common, however, were often recorded together in the one register.<br/><br/>In an attempt to try and rationalise the way the Department managed Crown land, the Occupation Branch was established in 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.<br/><br/>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'.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>After the establishment of the Occupation Branch in 1874 and the division of the State into Land Districts, applications were registered by District. Each 'District Land Office' created and maintained their own series of registers of applications. Any new applications received by the Department after 1874 were registered in separate District registers with applications numbers that were allocated from the number one onwards. The same application number could be allocated for selections in different Districts. For example, the application number 1021/32 could exist in both the Ballarat and Bendigo Land Districts. It is the District name plus the accompanying file number that is the unique identifier.<br/><br/>Applicants completed an application form at District Survey Offices. Most Land Districts had a District Survey Office. The District Surveyor would enter the applicants' details in a register of applications kept at the District Survey Office. The register of applications allocated a number to each applicant. The application number was written on the application to select and subsequently became their land selection file number if their application was approved.<br/><br/>The District Surveyor would enter into the register of applications the application number, the date the application was received, the applicants' name, occupation and parish, the allotment number and size (acres, roods and perches) applied for. The application was then forwarded to the appropriate District Land Office at the Occupation Branch in Melbourne. It was then entered in a duplicate register of applications there against the same application number. The District Surveyor also forwarded a tracing of the allotment applied for.<br/><br/>The location of the allotment applied for was immediately charted on a working plan in pencil. The tracing was then sent to the Department of Mines and Water Supply (VA 2720) for a report on any mining objections. If there were no mining objections the application would be heard before a Local Land Board. Local Land Boards were made up of representatives from the local community and the Department of Crown Lands and Survey (VA 538). The Boards would hear from all applicants for an allotment and would decide who was to be granted the licence or lease. The schedule documenting the decisions of the Local Land Board was forwarded to the appropriate District Land Office at the Occupation Branch and the decision was entered into the register of applications.<br/><br/>The Board of Land and Works (VA 744), the statutory authority for the management of Crown land, would give final approval for land selection, acting on the recommendation of the Local Land Board. The decision of the Board of Lands and Works (VA 744) was then recorded in the register of applications. The registers also record the date of the licence or lease issued and any subsequent action in relation to that file. The selectors granted each allotment would then be recorded on the working plan by the District Land Office draughtsman at the Occupation Branch. The tracing of the allotment was then sent to the Crown Land Bailiff responsible for that Land District.<br/><br/>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 or lease. 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 applicants file would be attached to the new selectors file. The new file number was annotated in the register against the original selectors' entry.<br/><br/>Even if the same selector applied for a licence on land he had previously forfeited a new application number would be allocated and the file would have a new selection file number.<br/>
VPRS 6800 Reports of the Chief Inspector of Mines [CANCELLED: SEE VPRS 7004/P2]
No full textThis series was originally identified, titled and documented by a service provider. An evaluation of the supplied documentation in 2025 resulted in the cancellation of this series and the addition of these reports to a range of other published documents in VPRS 7004.<br />  
VPRS 8932 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court Maintenance Payments Instalment Books and Cards [Overseas Cases]
No full textCourt of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court Maintenance Payments Instalment Books and Cards [Overseas Cases
VPRS 12650 Outward Letter Book (Engineer in Charge of Reclamation Works)
No full textThe Public Works Department (VA 669) had wide-ranging responsibilities for all public works and buildings, including construction, maintenance and fitting out of these buildings. Other major responsibilities included roads and bridges, ports and harbours, local government and water supply. The Department also had involvement in land reclamation schemes.<br/><br/>The Koo-Wee-Rup scheme was described by the Public Works Department Engineer in charge of reclamation schemes as being part of a Village Settlement Scheme<br/><br/>"that was principally intended to help the unemployed of Melbourne to establish homes in the country and to become accustomed to country life" with the reclamation work able to "provide employment for a certain number of men" and an estimate that "66% of the men sent to the swamp from the city (to) remain permanently and are enabled to make a comfortable living." (VPRS 12650 Outwards Letter Book, Supervising Engineer Reclamation Works, Memo to the Inspector-General 15 May, 1897, page 165)<br/><br/>This series consists of the letter-press copies of the outwards correspondence of the Engineer in Charge of Reclamation Works. These works included the Koo-Wee-Rup Drainage Scheme and the Condah Drainage Scheme. Contents include memoranda and letters concerning the background and history of such schemes to the Inspector-General of Works, correspondence to the supervisors in the field with regard to the execution of the works.<br/><br/>VPRS 12650/P1 was previously registered as Unit 3 of VPRS 1054 Records of Drainage Work at Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp
VPRS 1168 Memorandum Book
No full textThis series consists of Memorandum Books, in which the Secretary to the Premier recorded details of his various duties, as well as other information, such as important addresses, and Errors to be Avoided. It does not contain copies of outward memoranda, rather, it was used as a reference by the Secretary and provides an ongoing record of his actions. This series was previously registered with the title Memoranda.<br/><br/>The Secretary recorded Things to be attended to in this series. If tasks needed to be performed in relation to inward correspondence, the correspondence registration number, details of what was to be attended to, and a note of what was done and when, were recorded.<br/><br/>Applications for appointments within the Premiers Office were also recorded in this series. The Secretary also kept a record of Orders in Council, Publications of the Government Printing Office, Suggestions, Papers laid before Parliament and Enquiries for Missing Persons
VPRS 955 Passenger Ship Register Out
No full textThis series comprises a record of passenger ship departures from Victorian ports. It appears that the record was maintained for the compilation of passenger departure statistics as derived from the outward passenger lists to overseas and other ports in Australia (VPRS 948) and is effectively the control series.<br/><br/>Entries include the following details:<br/><br/>- port of departure<br/>- date of departure<br/>- name of vessel<br/>- tonnage<br/>- port of destination<br/>- numbers of cabin, intermediate and steerage passengers.<br/><br/>All of this information has been derived from information provided on the outwards passenger list in VPRS 948. Passenger numbers are derived from the passenger summary which appears on the final page of most lists.<br/><br/>At the end of the entries for each month there is a statistical recapitulation.<br/><br/>The series is incomplete as there are no volumes extant covering entries for the period January 1879 to August 1883. It is unclear if the series commenced in 1869. For the period November 1855 to December 1859 a similar record exists which combines the information recorded for passenger ship arrivals and departures. It is possibly a previous series - refer to VPRS 22/P Units 12 and 13. There are no similar records extant for the period January 1860 to December 1868.<br/><br/>The series ended in 1924 when responsibility for monitoring immigration passed to the Commonwealth.<br/><br/>For the same period consult VPRS 954 for a similar record relating to arrivals of passenger ships
VPRS 2378 Court of Petty Sessions Commonwealth Register
No full text<br/>Section 77(iii) of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 vested the new Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia with the power to invest state courts with the jurisdiction to determine matters brought to court under Commonwealth legislation. Courts of Petty Sessions, known since 1971 as Magistrates Courts, have included a Commonwealth jurisdiction since Federation. Cases have been brought to these courts under Commonwealth Acts dealing with various matters including taxation, electoral matters, wireless and television licensing and conciliation and arbitration.<br/><br/>Successive Justices' Acts and, more recently, Magistrates' Court Acts have required the clerk or registrar of each court to make and keep a register of convictions, orders and other proceedings of the court. This register is the authoritative record of the court. In 1915 all Clerks of Court were instructed to keep a separate register for matters heard under Commonwealth legislation and for cases where the defendant resided in another state. Cases falling into either of these categories were recorded in Commonwealth Registers.<br/><br/>Commonwealth Registers are very similar to other Court Registers. Commonwealth Registers are generally in a common format, giving details of the case number, the name of the prosecutor or informant, the name of the accused or defendant, how the case came to court (arrest, warrant, summons etc), the fees or court costs accrued, a description of the charge, cause or proceeding (usually indicating the Act under which the charges have been laid), the decision or order and any remarks. The column for remarks was often used to record the payment of fines and fees. In order to authenticate entries made in the register the presiding officer(s) of the court signed it at the end of each day
VPRS 16079 Accounting Records (Records Not Transferred)
No full textA generic explanation of an accounting system is given below.<br/><br/>This series comprises records that belonged to a municipal accounting system. An explanation of the types of funds managed by municipalities and the types of records found within accounting systems follows.<br/><br/>Municipal Accounting Funds<br/><br/>Municipal accounting has been subject to the provisions of the Local Government Act 1874 and subsequent local government legislation and to the Municipal Accounting Regulations. Under these provisions the income and expenditure of Victorian municipal councils is segregated into Municipal Funds, Loan Funds and a Country Roads Board Fund.<br/><br/>The Municipal Funds are further broken down into the following three types of funds:<br/>* General Fund<br/>* Undertakings such as abattoirs, electricity supply etc<br/>* Private Street Construction, Separate Rate and Special Improvement Charges.<br/><br/>Municipalities are required to credit ordinary revenue to the Municipal Funds. Ordinary revenue is comprised of rates, tolls and rent of tolls, grants and all other moneys not being the proceeds of a loan. The General Fund is the principal fund of the council and its accounts show the main items of municipal income and expenditure.<br/><br/>The Municipal Accounting Regulations require separate accounting records to be kept for the three types of Municipal Funds.<br/><br/>Accounting Records<br/><br/>Accounting systems comprise a structured collection of records which together document financial transactions. At the most basic level the flow of information between the records was as follows: from source documents (such as invoices and receipts), income and expenditure were recorded in cash books and journals.<br/><br/>From cash books and journals, sub-totals for expenditure and revenue were consolidated into subsidiary ledgers. Figures in subsidiary ledgers were used to compile totals of income and expenditure that were recorded in the general ledger. Categories of income and expenditure were then aggregated under account segments for use in financial statements.<br/><br/>The flow of information, however, is not always this straightforward.<br/><br/>Source Documents<br/><br/>Examples include receipt books, cheque butts, vouchers etc. Information is extracted from these documents and entered chronologically, in full or summary form, into cash books or journals. This process is called journalizing.<br/><br/>Cash Books<br/><br/>A cash book is a combination of a book of original entry (ie. a journal) and the ledger account for cash (often including the bank account). As a book of original entry it is used to record receipt and payment transactions in chronological order. Following a standard format, cash (and cheque) receipts are entered on the lefthand side of the book, and cash (and cheque) payments are recorded on the righthand side. These amounts are then 'posted' to the relevant ledger accounts which are identified either by ledger folio numbers or account numbers. As the cash book is also a replacement of the ledger account for cash, it is balanced at regular intervals.<br/><br/>Journals (Specific and General)<br/><br/>The prime function of a journal is to facilitate the 'posting' of credit and debit transactions into the appropriate ledger accounts. Like the cash book the journal is a book of original entry which records transactions in chronological order. Specific journals are often maintained to summarise information about similar types of transactions, including cash transactions, eg. cash receipts journal, wages and stores journal. General journals, on the other hand, provide a convenient record of other transactions, including adjustments to ledger accounts (to correct errors for example) and the sale or purchase of assets.<br/><br/>Journals may also be used to record the posting of amounts from one account to another (particularly common at the end of a financial year). The relevant accounts are identified either by the ledger folio number or an account number.<br/><br/>Ledgers (Subsidiary and General)<br/><br/>Ledgers comprise a record of changes (debit and credit transactions) concerning one or more accounts. The makeup (classification) of accounts is arbitrary and usually depends on the functions of the agency and the regulations governing its financial reporting requirements. Transactions are posted to the ledger accounts from the cash books and journals. The source of the posting is usually indicated by a combination of folio numbers and an abbreviation of the source record eg. 'C' or 'CB'=Cash Book, 'J'=Journal, 'PC'=Petty Cash Book etc.<br/><br/>Subsidiary ledgers are often maintained to facilitate a division of responsibilities within a large account, or to provide a separate record of a particular account.<br/><br/>A general ledger, however, comprises all accounts necessary for the compilation of the finance statements required by the agency. If subsidiary ledgers are used it is common for a general ledger to include a single account which represents the totals of the transactions of the accounts in each of the subsidiary ledgers. This device is called a 'control account'.<br/><br/>Finance Statements<br/><br/>Examples include Statements of Operations, Balance Sheets, Profit and Loss Statements.<br/><br/>Finance statements provide the final summary of the agency's financial situation at a particular point in time. They are usually compiled once a year and published with an annual report, although they may be compiled at more regular intervals. The types of statements and their format are generally determined by legislative requirements, and these in turn determine the nature of the accounts required to be maintained