Public Record Office Victoria
 
Series VPRS 8320
Conveyancing Files I [SAMPLE ONLY RETAINED]
About this Series Related Series Accessing the records in this Series
Date Range: Series 1847 - 1922
  Series in Custody 1847 - 1922
  Contents 1860 - 1920
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
1847 - 1922 Office of the Victorian Government Solicitor (previously known as the Office of the Crown Solicitor) VA 667
Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1847 - cont Office of the Victorian Government Solicitor (previously known as the Office of the Crown Solicitor) VA 667
Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series
  • How to use the Records
    System of Arrangement and Control

    Series: Files were maintained in chronological order by date of lodgement

    Finding the records

    These files may be accessed only by the records description list as the Crown Purchases Registers have not been transferred to the Public Record Office (as at April 1992).

    Function/Contents

    This series comprises files created to document property transactions of government clients managed by the Victorian Crown Solicitor (after 1987 known as the Victorian Government Solicitor [VGSO]). (Conveyancing refers to the transfer of property and property rights).

    The Crown Solicitor acted as solicitor to the Executive Government, government departments and government instrumentalities. It was the then, Conveyancing Branch of the Crown Solicitor's Office that conducted property purchases, also known as crown purchases, for government clients seeking to buy land from citizens. (The Lands Department, VA 538, was responsible for the selling of crown land until 1980 when the Crown Solicitor took over this functional responsibility as part of the Government's asset sales program.)

    Each sale generated a separate conveyancing file with a file cover upon which the list of parties was written as well as the transaction date. Within the file cover the following documents can be found: inwards and copies of outwards correspondence, certificates of title, draft conveyances, requisitions of title and indentures.

    Permanent Sample Retained

    These files are subject to a PRO disposal schedule (PROS 88/4) and are of temporary value due to the fact that they only contain the Crown Solicitor's copy of various documents. In assenting to their temporary status the PRO required the retention of 50 files, chosen at random from each tenth year ie: 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890...1970, 1980 etc.. It should be stressed that these files are retained to demonstrate the workings of the Crown Solicitor's office not because of the intrinsic value of the information contained therein. Thus this series will only provide fortuitous access to information on particular land sales and vendors. It may be worth consulting records of the various agencies referred to as land purchasers in the records description list for their records of such transactions. These agencies include the Board of Land & Works, Closer Settlement Commission, Country Roads Board and the Education Department.

    System of Arrangement/Control

    These files were controlled by Crown Purchase Registers. The Victorian Crown Solicitor maintained separate registers for state schools, the Country Roads Board, Water Supply and a miscellaneous register for the remaining crown purchases. These registers were used to record the date the conveyance was registered and the relevant file title. (See records description texts for VPRS 8323, 8324, 8325, 8327, 8329 for more information).

    The existence of these registers implies that the conveyancing files were originally arranged according to the government agency (or miscellaneous) to which they referred. Presumably the files were maintained in separate sequences but this arrangement has not survived and thus the conveyancing files for this period have been serialised into one sequence.

    At the time of transfer no files earlier than 1860 were known to be extant.

    This series of conveyancing files is deemed to end in 1922 when the files were first allocated sequential numbers. The Public Record Office considers such a change in recordkeeping ie: from a chronological arrangement to a sequential numbering arrangement, to mark the start of a new series. VPRS 8321/P1 Conveyancing Files II [SAMPLE ONLY RETAINED] is the subsequent series.

  • Function / Content


  • Recordkeeping System
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Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
1847 - 1922 Crown Purchases Registers I [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED] VPRS 8323
1855 - 1921 Crown Purchases Register : Water Supply I [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED] VPRS 8327
1893 - 1921 Crown Purchases Register : State Schools I [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED] VPRS 8329
1915 - 1922 Crown Purchases Registers : Country Roads Board [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED] VPRS 8325
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
- 1922 Conveyancing Files: II [SAMPLE ONLY RETAINED] VPRS 8321
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
P0001 1860 - 1920 Open 7
Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
1847 - 1922 Crown Purchases Registers I [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED] VPRS 8323
1855 - 1921 Crown Purchases Register : Water Supply I [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED] VPRS 8327
1893 - 1921 Crown Purchases Register : State Schools I [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED] VPRS 8329
1915 - 1922 Crown Purchases Registers : Country Roads Board [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED] VPRS 8325
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