| Date Range: |
Series |
? 1839 - ? 1896 |
| |
Series in Custody |
1839 - 1896 |
| |
Contents |
1839 - 1930 |
| Public Access: |
Part Open |
| Location: |
North Melbourne |
| Format of Records: |
Physical |
  | Agency which created this SeriesAgency which created this Series |
Date Range
|
Agency Title
|
Agency Number
|
| 1839 - 1851 |
Superintendent, Port Phillip District |
VA 473 |
| 1839 - 1851 |
Surveyor General's Department, Port Phillip Branch (also known as the Melbourne Survey Office) |
VA 943 |
| 1851 - 1853 |
Colonial Secretary's Office |
VA 856 |
| 1851 - 1857 |
Surveyor-General's Department |
VA 2921 |
| 1853 - 1857 |
Crown Lands Department |
VA 2878 |
| 1857 - 1896 |
Department of Crown Lands and Survey |
VA 538 |
| Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series |
| Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series |
- How to use the Records
Step 1
There are various methods of accessing correspondence in this series, the efficacy of each method depends on the specificity of your research. The options available to researchers are to use VPRS 8670 Microfiche Catalogue to Crown Lands and Survey Files in VPRS 44 (Computer Output Microfiche) or to scan the Records Description List (Date Order) for VPRS 44.
The microfiche catalogue is useful for identifying particular items in VPRS 44 where the file number of the correspondence is known. Therefore, unless the correspondence file number is already known because it has been cited elsewhere, the original control records (the registers and indexes created by the creating agencies to control and retrieve the correspondence) must be used to identify the file numbers of items of interest prior to using this catalogue.
Researchers who do not wish to locate a particular file number or who wish to browse the contents of VPRS 44 are advised to use the Records Description List to VPRS 44 (located in the Series Description Folders of each Search Room) which has been arranged in date of correspondence order and which gives a brief description of files and correspondence in many instances.
Step 2
If you wish to scan the Records Description List turn to the pages which follow this description. The information on this list was transcribed from the original typed list and then resorted into date of correspondence order.
Step 3
For instructions regarding the use of the microfiche catalogue see the series description for VPRS 8670. If you need to use the original control records, VPRS 226, VPRS 227 and VPRS 228, see the descriptions for these series.
Step 4
Refer to Appendix 6 of the Lands Manual 1989 if you are looking for pre 1856 correspondence to/from a particular surveyor. This appendix lists surveyors and assistant surveyors alphabetically by surname and details the unit numbers where their correspondence is located.
- Function / Content
This series consists of inward registered and unregistered correspondence received by the various agencies historically responsible for "lands" functions in Victoria. Over time these records were accumulated and transferred as each agency became defunct and passed responsibility to the next administration. Therefore VPRS 44 in reality contains records from many different agencies' correspondence registry systems. In addition many correspondence items in VPRS 44 appear to have been sent to the "lands" agencies from other government departments in relation to particular "lands" transactions but do not appear to have been registered as correspondence received by the lands agency.
Although the major component of the series spans the years 1839-1878, some files date into the 20th century.
- Recordkeeping System
The original order of the records in VPRS 44 was severely disrupted by time and storage moves at the Lands Department. Not only was the arrangement of files to files disrupted, but also the relationship between items on files (ie. letters). As "dockets" were broken and split retrieval using the original methods (the 19th century registers and indexes) was hampered.
In order to rectify this a project to re-box and re-list all correspondence in VPRS 44 was undertaken by the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands with National Estate Project funding in 1986/87. As part of the process of listing each file an attempt was made to identify the "registry system" it belonged to. In this way, having linked items to the registry system they were registered in, the original control records could be used to identify and retrieve correspondence in VPRS 44.
For the purpose of classification and retrieval a number was allocated to each registry system, refer to the end of this series description for a list of registry systems and numbers.
The catalogue gives the registered number of each file held in the series together with a date which is usually built into the file number. Geographical details are also recorded in some instances. The majority of files in VPRS 44 must be traced by consulting correspondence indexes and registers to obtain file numbers before using the microfiche catalogue. The catalogue then gives the unit number of each item so the files can be retrieved.
The files in VPRS 44 were re-boxed during compilation of the catalogue because many of the original boxes were over packed. Researchers who have previously cited files in the series will need to consult the Records Description List for VPRS 44, Old Unit Number Order, to ascertain in which unit their specific file is now located.
CONTENTS AND SUBJECT CLASSIFICATIONS USED
The earliest material in VPRS 44 generally comprises surveyors' correspondence, reflecting the initial survey work in the Port Phillip District. This correspondence covers specific surveys, routine administrative procedures, and the difficulties encountered by field surveyors. Sometimes the letters include official survey reports, progress journals, plans, requisitions for supplies, pay abstracts (listing members of survey parties), etc. Sales by auction - a major method of Crown Land disposal during the 1840s and 1850s - are documented in both surveyors' correspondence and schedules of sales. Other subject classifications used during the early years of the administration include: Employment Applications/Staff Matters; Commissioners of Crown Lands; Police Magistrates; General Correspondence. The series includes surveyor's reports, schedules (eg. land sale and selection) and plans.
After 1855 (responsible government) an increase in correspondence and subject classifications reflects the development of new administrative structures and responsibilities. Bundles of correspondence on Municipal Matters, the Geological Survey, Contract Surveys, Land for Selection, Valuation of Improvements, etc. mark the growing activity in survey and settlement. This diversity of subject classifications increased with the Land Acts of the 1860s.
From 1860, some matters previously grouped under surveyors' correspondence (eg. pastoral runs, reserves, roads), as well as those arising from the new legislation, are allocated separate subject classifications. Departmental business included issues such as: Common; Roads; Parks and Reserves; Land Boards; Trespass and Illegal Occupation; Licences for Business Sites (eg. stores) and Quarries; Punt and Ferry Licences; Residence and Cultivation Licences; Pre-emptive Rights; Inquires and Rulings re Land Acts etc. Transactions under particular sections of the Acts are covered, eg. section 47 Land Act 1862 (novel industries), section 42 Land Act 1865 and section 49 Land Act 1869 (goldfields), section 40 Land Act 1869 (sales of detached strips of land).
Staff Matters, Applications for Sale, Transactions relating to Selectors, General, and Surveyors' correspondence, are recurring categories throughout VPRS 44. Letters from government offices are often collected together into specific subject bundles, eg. Treasurer, Secretary for Mines/Mines Department. Reports and evidence from Boards of Enquiry on Departmental matters can also be found in the series, eg. embezzlement of Departmental revenue by Hugh O'Farrall in 1873.
LIST OF REGISTRY SYSTEMS AND NUMBERS USED TO IDENTIFY THEM IN THE CATALOGUE
Registry numbers roughly equate with an agency's recordkeeping system. From the list below identify the agency which is most likely to have created the records you are seeking. Note: 95% of the records in VPRS 44 are from Registry System 7, which relates to Lands Department General Registry correspondence for the period 1856 - 1876. Researchers will also need to refer to VPRS 226 and VPRS 227 to access specific correspondence for this period. For Lands Department general registry correspondence for the period 1876 - 1896 see Registry System 8 and use VPRS 228. Where original control records for other registry systems have been identified these have been listed in Appendix 5 of the Lands Manual 1989.
No., Registry System, Date
1 Superintendent of Port Phillip District: Inward Correspondence, 1839-1851
2 Land Branch (of Colonial Secretary's Office): Inward Correspondence, 1847-1852
3 Colonial Secretary's Office/Chief Secretary's Office: Inward Correspondence, 1851-1874
4 Chief Commissioner of Crown lands: Inward Correspondence, 1854-1855
5 Surveyor-General: Inward Correspondence from Colonial Secretary, 1854-1855
6 Surveyor-General: Inward Correspondence other than from Colonial Secretary, 1854-1855
7 Lands (Department) General Registry: Inward Correspondence, 1856-1876
8 Lands (Department) Alphabetical Registry: Inward Correspondence, 1876-1896
9 Lands (Department), Occupation Branch: Inward Correspondence, 1874-1875
10 Surveyor-in-Charge/Surveyor-General: Outward Correspondence, 1842-1851
11 Portland Survey Office and District: Inward and Outward Correspondence (includes outward registered letters and unregistered material. NOTE: Some letters to Surveyor-General from Portland can be found under system 19), 1847-1861
(1870)
12 Colonial Secretary (Land Branch): Outward Correspondence to Surveyor-General, 1851-1854
13 Colonial Treasurer: Outward Correspondence, 1851
14 Colonial Secretary (Finance Branch): Outward Correspondence, 1853
15 Williamstown Survey Office: Outward Correspondence, 1854-1856
16 Geelong Survey Office & District: Outward Correspondence (NOTE: Some letters to Surveyor-General from Geelong can be found under system 19), 1852-1855
1859
17 Commissioner of Crown Lands Westernport District: Inward Correspondence (unregistered), 1853
18 Police Office Kilmore (Clerk of Petty Sessions): Outward Correspondence of Chief Commissioner of Crown Lands and Commissioner of Crown Lands Westernport District (registered and unregistered), 1853
19 Office of Surveyor-in-Charge/Surveyor-General: Inward Correspondence, mainly from officers in the field, eg. Surveyors (registered and unregistered). NOTE: When file numbers are listed they indicate either the original number on the back of the actual letter or the number on the cover. Many of the files were grouped according to sender or subject, and renumbered on their covers, 1848-1856
20 Commissioner of Crown Lands Murray District (Police Magistrate Benalla): Inward Correspondence (unregistered), 1853-1854
21 Assistant Surveyor Wilmot: Outward Correspondence to Surveyor-General, 1854-1855
22 Commissioner of crown Lands & Survey: Outward Correspondence to Surveyor-General, 1855
23 Police Magistrates, Regional Offices: Outward Correspondence to Surveyor-General, 1855
24 Taradale Survey Office and District: Outward Correspondence, 1855-1856
25 Sandhurst Survey Office and District: Outward Correspondence, 1855 (1857)
26 Lands, 'A.B.' (Account Branch): Outward Correspondence, 1858, 1860, 1861, 1863
27 Lands, 'L.B.' (?): Outward Correspondence, 1856
28 Lands, 'S.B.' (?): Outward Correspondence, 1856
29 Lands, 'G.B.' (?): Outward Correspondence, 1856-1870
30 Lands, 'S.B.' (Sale Branch?): Outward Correspondence, 1856
31 Lands, 'C.F.B.' (?): Outward Correspondence, 1856
32 Treasurer: Inward and Outward Correspondence, 1856-1874
33 Secretary for Railways: Inward Correspondence, 1858-1870
34 President of the Board of Land and Works: Inward Correspondence (NOTE: The numbers on the file covers are not listed as they only indicate the sequential/chronological ordering of files when grouped according to sender or subject), 1858-1859
35 Executive Council of Victoria: Inward and Outward Correspondence, 1857-1890
36 Land Occupation Branch: Outward Correspondence, 1859-1860
1874-1875
37 Department of Roads and Bridges: Inward Correspondence, 1859-1861
38 Government Geologist ('G.S.O.'): Inward Correspondence, 1860
39 R. Brough Smyth
a) Secretary Board of Science
b) Secretary Central Board for the Protection of the Aborigines
c) Secretary for Mines (see also 42-Department of Mines): Inward Correspondence-1860-1861, 1869
40 Lands: Inward Correspondence (NOTE: These files seem to be mainly applications for selection under various sections of the Land Acts), 1860-1863
41 Melbourne Lands & Survey Office (Board of Science): Outward Correspondence, 1860
42 Department of Mines: Inward Correspondence, 1861-1874
43 Engineer-in-Chief, Railways: Inward Correspondence, 1861-1871
44 Secretary for Mines/Chief Mining Surveyor: Outward Correspondence, 1861-1876
45 Central Board for the Protection of the Aborigines: Outward Correspondence, 1861
46 Government Storekeeper: Inward Correspondence, 1863
47 Staff Matters/Employment Applications: Inward Correspondence (NOTE: some letters can be found under other systems-chiefly 7 and 19), 1864-1876
48 Department of Trade and Customs: Inward Correspondence, 1869, 1874
49 Board of Land and Works: Inward Correspondence, 1865-1866
50 Lands (Survey Branch): Outward Correspondence, 1865-1866
51 Inspector-General of Customs: Inward Correspondence, 1865
52 Applications under Section 42, Land Act 1865, 1865-1869
53 Applications under Section 47, Land Act 1865, 1862-1865
54 Inspector-General, Public Works: Inward Correspondence, 1866-1870
55 Postmaster-General: Inward Correspondence, 1867-1874
56 Legislative Assembly: Inward Correspondence, 1868
57 Law Department: Inward Correspondence, 1868-1869
58 Valuations of Improvements on Land (Note: Some valuations are under system 7; unregistered valuations have not been classified under any system), 1869
59 Water Supply, Department of Public Works: Inward Correspondence 1868-1871
60 Water Supply, Department of Public Works: Outward Correspondence 1870
61 Applications under Section 31 Land Act 1869, 1865-1880
62 Applications under Section 49 Land Act 1869, 1870-1879
63 Superintendent of Port Phillip District: Inward Correspondence relating to Aboriginal Affairs-
64 Registrar of Titles: Inward Correspondence, 1872-1873
65 Applications under Section 19 Land Act 1869, 1870-1879
66 Secretary, Railways and Roads, 1876
67 Applications under Section 33 Land Act 1869
| More research resourcesMore research resources |
| Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers |
|
Date Range
|
Series Title
|
Series Number
|
| 1839 - 1930 |
Microfiche Catalogue of Crown Lands and Survey Files in VPRS 44 (Computer Output Microfiche) |
VPRS 8670 |
| 1854 - 1855 |
Register of Inward Correspondence (General) |
VPRS 14255 |
| 1856 - 1876 |
Registers of Inward Correspondence (Refer to Microfilm Copy, VPRS 227) |
VPRS 70 |
| 1856 - 1876 |
Index to Inward Registered Correspondence [Microfilm Copy of VPRS 5522] |
VPRS 226 |
| 1856 - 1876 |
Registers of Inwards Correspondence [Microfilm copy of VPRS 70] |
VPRS 227 |
| 1856 - 1876 |
Index to Inward Registered Correspondence [Refer to Microfilm Copy, VPRS 226] |
VPRS 5522 |
| 1874 - ? 1875 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Beechworth Land District |
VPRS 14273 |
| 1874 - 1876 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Occupation Branch |
VPRS 621 |
| 1874 - 1876 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Melbourne Land District |
VPRS 14271 |
| 1874 - 1876 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Echuca Land District |
VPRS 14274 |
| 1875 - 1876 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Survey Branch I |
VPRS 14547 |
| 1875 - 1878 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Kerang Land District |
VPRS 14276 |
| 1876 - ? 1891 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Survey Branch II |
VPRS 14548 |
| 1876 - 1878 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Echuca Land District |
VPRS 14275 |
| 1876 - 1896 |
Alphabetical Registers of Inwards Correspondence (Refer to Microfilm Copy, VPRS 228) |
VPRS 166 |
| 1876 - 1896 |
Alphabetical Registers of Inward Correspondence [Microfilm copy of VPRS 166] |
VPRS 228 |
| 1876 - 1903 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Melbourne Land District |
VPRS 3432 |
| 1878 - 1881 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Echuca and Kerang Land Districts |
VPRS 14277 |
| 1878 - 1896 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Secretary |
VPRS 14262 |
| 1881 - 1896 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Echuca, Kerang, Beechworth and Omeo Land Districts |
VPRS 14278 |
| Controlled SeriesControlled Series |
| Previous SeriesPrevious Series |
| Subsequent SeriesSubsequent Series |
| List/s of records in this seriesList/s of records in this series |
| Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers |
|
Date Range
|
Series Title
|
Series Number
|
| 1839 - 1930 |
Microfiche Catalogue of Crown Lands and Survey Files in VPRS 44 (Computer Output Microfiche) |
VPRS 8670 |
| 1854 - 1855 |
Register of Inward Correspondence (General) |
VPRS 14255 |
| 1856 - 1876 |
Registers of Inward Correspondence (Refer to Microfilm Copy, VPRS 227) |
VPRS 70 |
| 1856 - 1876 |
Index to Inward Registered Correspondence [Microfilm Copy of VPRS 5522] |
VPRS 226 |
| 1856 - 1876 |
Registers of Inwards Correspondence [Microfilm copy of VPRS 70] |
VPRS 227 |
| 1856 - 1876 |
Index to Inward Registered Correspondence [Refer to Microfilm Copy, VPRS 226] |
VPRS 5522 |
| 1874 - ? 1875 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Beechworth Land District |
VPRS 14273 |
| 1874 - 1876 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Occupation Branch |
VPRS 621 |
| 1874 - 1876 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Melbourne Land District |
VPRS 14271 |
| 1874 - 1876 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Echuca Land District |
VPRS 14274 |
| 1875 - 1876 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Survey Branch I |
VPRS 14547 |
| 1875 - 1878 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Kerang Land District |
VPRS 14276 |
| 1876 - ? 1891 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Survey Branch II |
VPRS 14548 |
| 1876 - 1878 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Echuca Land District |
VPRS 14275 |
| 1876 - 1896 |
Alphabetical Registers of Inwards Correspondence (Refer to Microfilm Copy, VPRS 228) |
VPRS 166 |
| 1876 - 1896 |
Alphabetical Registers of Inward Correspondence [Microfilm copy of VPRS 166] |
VPRS 228 |
| 1876 - 1903 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Melbourne Land District |
VPRS 3432 |
| 1878 - 1881 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Echuca and Kerang Land Districts |
VPRS 14277 |
| 1878 - 1896 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Secretary |
VPRS 14262 |
| 1881 - 1896 |
Register of Inward Correspondence, Echuca, Kerang, Beechworth and Omeo Land Districts |
VPRS 14278 |
| More research resourcesMore research resources |
|