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Series VPRS 602
Gold Mining Lease Files
About this Series Related Series Accessing the records in this Series
Date Range: Series ? 1859 - 1972
  Series in Custody ? 1918 - 1980
  Contents 1918 - 1980
Public Access: Open
Location: North Melbourne
Format of Records: Physical
 
Agency which created this SeriesAgency which created this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1859 - 1860 Chief Secretary's Department VA 475
1860 - 1895 Department of Mines (also known as the Mining Department) VA 2719
1895 - 1909 Department of Mines and Water Supply VA 2720
1909 - 1972 Mines Department (also known as Department of Mines and Mining Department) VA 612
Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1995 - 1996 Department of Agriculture, Energy and Minerals VA 3744
1996 - 2002 Department of Natural Resources and the Environment VA 3972
2002 - cont Department of Primary Industries VA 4563
Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series
  • How to use the Records
    Files are identified by a unique number within each of the seven mining districts (Ararat, Ballarat, Beechworth, Bendigo [previously Sandhurst], Castlemaine, Gippsland and Maryborough). Files are arranged in number order according to mining district.

    An index of names of mines and names of applicants exists for the period 1927 to 1946 only - see VPRS 7845.

    [The location of files created prior to 1918 is unknown. For summary information about applications made between 1859 and 1917, see VPRS Register of Applications for Gold Mining Leases.]

  • Function / Content
    This series comprises files which record the administration of gold mining leases from initial application to expiry or cancellation.

    Gold Mining Leases (often known simply as Mining Leases) could be granted to a person or body corporate to entitle them to mine or undertake associated mining activity on Crown land subject to the payment of an annual fee and the satisfaction of certain conditions. Areas subject to a lease application were required to be surveyed. Crown land already taken up as a claim under a miners right or business licence could not be the subject of a lease or licence without the consent of the holder. The entitlement to mine under a lease included the construction and use of races, dams, buildings etc. The leaseholder was also entitled to reside on the land. Applications were initially submitted to the district Mining Warden who would forward a duplicate to the Mines Department in Melbourne. From circa 1915 applications were required to be submitted direct to the Mines Department and they would forward a duplicate to the appropriate Warden.

    Mining leases were generally taken up for the purpose of working a larger area than was available as a `claim' under a Miner's Right. Taking out a lease usually involved an obligation to keep a certain number of men in employment (known as a labour covenant).

    Files contain correspondence and documents relating to the administration of the lease, including:
    the application
    survey of the area
    rental payments
    issue and gazettal of the lease
    consents and agreements.
    In many cases the final status of the lease (e.g. void, cancelled, expired) is recorded on the file cover or top sheet.

  • Recordkeeping System
    A file was raised on receipt of an application for a lease. Each application was registered - see VPRS 7842. The register was used to allocate unique numbers to each lease application within one of the seven mining districts. Each file could therefore be identified by the registration number and the mining district (eg. 8088 Castlemaine).

    Files may contain several applications of renewal by the same lessee or applications by different persons seeking a lease where a previous lease had expired. It was usual practice to allocate a new number to subsequent applications. In some cases successive applications have been attached together so that the number of the most recent application became the final (top) number of the file.

    In 1972 a new registration system was introduced under which a single number was allocated to each application regardless of the district in which the mine was located. It appears that the distinction between gold mining leases and mineral leases also ceased at this time and hence the new system registered applications for leases previously registered within the separate systems. The subsequent series of mining lease files is VPRS 6801.
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Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
1859 - 1972 Register of Applications for Gold Mining Leases VPRS 7842
1927 - 1946 Index to Mining Leases, Mineral Leases, Tailings Licences and Other Leases and Licences VPRS 7845
Circa 1860 - By 1958 Name Index to Mining Leases and Licences VPRS 14977
Controlled SeriesControlled Series
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
Previous SeriesPrevious Series
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Transfer Date Series Title Series Number
Subsequent SeriesSubsequent Series
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Transfer Date Series Title Series Number
- 1972 Mining Lease Files VPRS 6801
List/s of records in this seriesList/s of records in this series
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Consignment Number Contents Date Range Public Access No. of Units
P0000 1918 - 1969 Open 357
P0001 1940 - 1980 Open 1
P0003 1932 - 1980 Open 9
P0004 1931 - 1978 Open 3
P0005 1931 - 1972 Open 1
P0006 1931 - 1949 Open 1
Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
Display entries per page
Date Range Series Title Series Number
1859 - 1972 Register of Applications for Gold Mining Leases VPRS 7842
1927 - 1946 Index to Mining Leases, Mineral Leases, Tailings Licences and Other Leases and Licences VPRS 7845
Circa 1860 - By 1958 Name Index to Mining Leases and Licences VPRS 14977
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