New South Wales Land and Property

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New South Wales

New South Wales Land and Property

Online Resources

• Pastoral Possessions Of New South Wales, index and transcription, ($).
• New South Wales Ratepayers & Occupiers, index, ($).
• Yewens Directory Landholders New South Wales, index, ($).
• 1787-1976 - New South Wales, Australia, Miscellaneous Records, 1787-1976 - contains land and mortgage records, images ($)
• 1788-1963 - New South Wales, Australia, Land Grants, 1788-1963 at Ancestry, ($), index and images.
• 1788-1856 - New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary's Papers, 1788-1856 at Ancestry, index, browse, and images, ($).
• 1792-1867 - New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Land Grants and Leases, 1792-1867, index, browse, and images, ($).
• 1794-1903 - New South Wales, Australia, Surveyor General Field and Sketch Books, 1794-1903, index, browse, and images, ($).
• 1811-1870 - New South Wales, Australia, Land Records, 1811-1870 at Ancestry, ($), index and images.
• 1821-1937 - New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937, index, browse, and images, ($).
• 1822-1857 - New South Wales, Australia, Returns of the Colony, 1822-1857, index, browse, and images, ($).
• 1826-1856 - New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary's Letters, 1826-1856 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
• 1837-1846 - New South Wales, Australia, Depasturing Licenses, 1837-1846 index and images - at Ancestry ($)
• 1859-1958 - New South Wales, Australia, Index to Deceased Estate Files, 1859-1958, index, browse, and images, ($).
• 1906-1960 - New South Wales, Returned Soldiers Settlement Loan Files 1906-1960, index and transcription, ($).
• 1907-1936, 1951 - New South Wales, Closer Settlement and Returned Soldiers Transfer Files 1907-1936 & 1951, index and transcription, ($).
• 1916-1939 - New South Wales, Returned Soldier Settlement Miscellaneous Files 1916-1939, index and transcription, ($).

Archive Resources Kit

• Archive Resources Kit

Registers of depasturing licences, 1837-51

Indexes to land grants, 1788-1865, and selected registers

• Community Access Points A list of libraries and archives which hold microcopies of the Archive Resource Kit records
  

Background

Land Grants

• Governor Phillip, in 25 April 1787, was empowered to grant land to emancipists. Each male was entitled to 30 acres, an additional 20 acres if married, and 10 acres for each child with him in the settlement at the time of the grant.
• To encourage free settlers to the colony, Phillip received additional Instructions dated 20 August 1789 entitling non-commissioned Marine officers to 100 acres and privates to 50 acres, over and above the quantity allowed to convicts.
• Other settlers coming to the colony were also to be given grants.
• In 1825, the sale of land by private tender began.
• In a despatch dated 9 January 1831, Viscount Goderich instructed that no more free grants (except those already promised) be given. All land was thenceforth to be sold at public auction.

Depasturing Licenses

Settlers were permitted to occupy Crown lands for grazing purposes if they obtained a license that could be renewed annually. The first of these licenses was the Ticket of Occupation, which was granted in about 1820. These licenses gave owners rights to grazing land within two miles of their residence. Later, depasturing licenses gave owners rights to the vacant Crown lands beyond the limits of the owners’ homes. (Today, depasturing licenses can be used as census substitutes.) The applications for depasturing licenses list:

• Name
• Trade or calling
• Residence
• Land applied for
• Marital status
• Number of children
• Name and condition of the person under whom stock are to be placed
• Real or personal estate possessed by applicant

Licensing impacted not only the grazing industry, but the mining industry as well. Mining licenses began with the gold rush in 1851. Mining is still licensed today.

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