Introduction
The laws that allowed people to buy land in Victoria changed
over time.
This is a summary of the main points of the land Acts that
affected the way people could buy land in Victoria from its
settlement in the 1830s to the 1880s. Land Acts are often known
by the name of the minister who introduced the bill into Parliament.
As you will see when you look at some of the documents these
land Acts are difficult for us to read as they contain many
legal terms and use legal language. Later in Victoria's
history, laws have been written in language that is easier to
read.
Challenge yourself and see if you can read examples of this
legal language for the land Acts of 1860 and 1862 only. To help
you, the Land Act of 1860 has links from each main idea to the
legal language that explains that idea. For the 1862 Act you
need to find the main ideas in the different clauses for yourself.
Before responsible government in 1855
When the Port Phillip District was first settled, its laws were
the same as those for New South Wales of which it was then a
part. At the time of Victoria's separation from New South
Wales, the purchase and ownership of land was controlled by
the Orders in Council of 1847. These orders gave the squatters
a monopoly or control of the land for up to fourteen years,
the period of their lease.
The main ideas included in the Order in Council were:
- A farm (or 'run') was surveyed before a
squatting permit was issued.
- The farmer could buy one square mile of his farm or
station at the price of one pound per acre.
- Land was divided into three types:
- Settled Districts - within 40 kilometres of Melbourne, 24
kilometres of Geelong and 16 kilometres of Portland and Alberton
in Victoria. Annual licences applied to these lands.
- Intermediate Districts - runs of up to 1600 acres could be
leased for eight years.
- Unsettled Districts - this land was considered to be unsuitable
for farming. Fourteen-year leases could be granted for each
run of 3,200 acres.
During the 1860s four selection Acts or land Acts were passed
by the Parliament of Victoria to help put more people on the
land.
The Nicholson Land Act of 1860
Land in Victoria was divided into two types:
- Special which could be bought at auction.
- Country which was made available for selection after the
land had been surveyed. (Clause XII)
When people bought land by selection:
- It was available in allotments from 80 to 640 acres (about
37 to 300 hectares). (Clause XV)
- No person could buy more than 640 acres. (Clause XXXI)
- Three million acres (about 1,250,000 hectares) of land was
to be surveyed and made available for sale within one year.
(Clause XVIII)
- Each allotment was halved. (Clause XV)
- The selector had to buy one half of the allotment at one
pound per acre. (Clause XX)
- The selector could also choose to buy or lease the other
half. If the selector leased the land the buyer had to pay
one shilling per acre per year. (Clause XVI)
- A lease or rent could be for a period up to seven years.
At this time the selector paid the balance of the one pound
for each acre. (Note: there were 20 shillings to one pound.)
(Clauses XVI
and XXVI)
- No selector could buy more than 640 acres in one year. This
was to stop people buying large areas of land. The squatters
(or large landholders) had done this in earlier years, often
with the best land with access to water in nearby rivers and
creeks being bought. This often denied new farmers access
to water (except natural rainfall). Selecting these best pieces
of land was called 'peacocking'. (Clause XXXI)
The Duffy Land Act of 1862
The act made the following changes:
- Ten million acres (about 4 million hectares) of land
was made available for selection. Four million acres was to
be made available within three months, the rest at a later date.
- Land was no longer divided into 'Special'
and 'Country'.
- The smallest allotment size was halved to 40 acres.
- Lease conditions were changed with rents being paid
at two shillings and sixpence per acre for eight years. This
meant that after eight years the selector owed no money on the
land.
To view the main clauses of this act, click
here
The Grant Land Act of 1865
The main changes were:
- Land was no longer divided into one half to be bought
immediately and one half to be rented.
- Water frontage for each allotment was now reduced to
a maximum of one mile (about two kilometres). This was to try
and stop 'peacocking' and to give more farmers access
to water in rivers and streams. At this time, if a river or
stream flowed through your property, the farmer owned that part
of the stream or river and could dam it. This often stopped
other farmers having a good reliable supply of water.
- Rentals were reduced to two shillings per acre on a
seven-year lease.
- Selectors could not purchase the property outright in
the first three years.
- Before they bought the land they had to live on it for
three years and make improvements valued at one pound per acre.
- Unlike the earlier acts, the rent paid was not used
to pay off the land.
The Grant Land Act of 1869
The main changes were:
- The maximum land area that could be bought was now reduced
to 320 acres.
- Land was first held under licence which allowed the
selector three years to cultivate ten per cent of the land selected.
- If this was done and the property was improved and enclosed,
and the selector had lived there for two and a quarter years,
the selector could now lease the land for another seven years.
- Selectors could buy the land any time after the first
three years with the rental being used to help pay for the land.
- Water frontages were now reduced to one quarter of a
mile (about 450 metres).
The Longmore Land Act of 1878
The main changes were:
- The licence and lease periods of the previous act in
1869 were doubled.
- The rent was halved.
- Selectors were now allowed to be absent from their farms
for three months each year. This allowed them to find other
work to help meet costs on their farm.
Land Act of 1884
The main changes were:
- Squatting ceased to exist when run leases were abolished.
- The state now took over ownership of water. In the past
people 'owned' the water that flowed in rivers and
creeks past or through their properties.
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