Public Record Office Victoria
 
Series VPRS 670
Register of Licence Applications, Sale
About this Series Related Series Accessing the records in this Series
Date Range: Series 1885 - 1989
  Series in Custody 1885 - 1954
  Contents 1885 - 1954
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
1885 - 1916 Licensing Courts VA 2870
1917 - 1954 Licensing Court of Victoria VA 2955
1954 - 1968 Victorian Licensing Court VA 2905
1968 - 1988 Liquor Control Commission VA 1110
1988 - 1989 Liquor Licensing Commission VA 2869
Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1998 - cont Director of Liquor Licensing VA 4824
Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series
  • How to use the Records
    Licence applications were recorded in chronological order by the date of the hearing or sitting.

  • Function / Content
    Liquor licensing has had a complex history which is yet to be fully researched. The sale of liquor has been subject to regulation since the beginnings of settlement in Victoria. Up to 1886 registers of applications for liquor and non-liquor licences were created and maintained in local Courts of Petty Sessions at which annual, quarterly and general sittings of justices of the peace, licensing benches or licensing magistrates occurred. Since the proclamation of the Licensing Act 1885 (40 Vic.,No.857), jurisdiction over liquor licensing has been vested in distinct judicial and administrative bodies. The records in this series will be of one of the following types depending on the licensing authority which created them.

    Licensing Courts Registers 1886-1954

    Under the Licensing Act 1885 (40 Vic., No.857) Victoria was divided into Licensing Districts, each one comprising a division of an electoral district. The Act provided for Licensing Courts to be constituted for each Licensing District to hear and determine liquor licence applications only. For its annual sittings each Licensing Court was to be constituted by three licensing magistrates, who could be police magistrates except in the (Melbourne) Metropolitan, Ballarat and Sandhurst (Bendigo) groups of Licensing Districts where one of the licensing magistrates was to be a county court judge. Outside of the annual sittings, applications could be heard and determined by any one member of the Licensing Court. Non-liquor licences continued to be heard by the court of petty sessions.

    The registers created between 1886 and 1890 often document the transition of responsibility from the courts of petty sessions to the licensing courts. In most country areas the same volume continued to be used for liquor and non-liquor licence applications until circa 1890 when new stationery was introduced specifically for liquor licence applications. Between 1886 and 1890, the pages which recorded proceedings of the Licensing Court were annotated to show that they were a record of that authority.

    Until 1916, separate Licensing Courts were constituted throughout Victoria to hear applications for a number of licensing districts. Under the Licensing Act 1916 (No.2855) the same three licensing magistrates held Licensing Court hearings on a circuit basis. The Licensing Amendment Act 1922 (No.3259) subsequently reduced the number of licensing districts from two hundred and seventeen (one for each division of an electoral district) to sixty-five (one for each electoral district). The registers always record the place of the sitting and the licensing districts to which the hearings related.


    Victorian Licensing Court Registers 1954-1968

    The Victorian Licensing Court succeeded the Licensing Courts under the Licensing Amendment Act 1953 (No.5767).The Court was constituted by two magistrates under the chairmanship of a judge of the County Court. Under the 1953 Act the division of the State into licensing districts effectively ceased although the Court continued to conduct hearings in licensing areas throughout the State.

    Liquor Control Commission Registers 1968-1988/Liquor Licensing Commission 1988-1989

    The Liquor Control Commission was established under the Liquor Control Act 1968 (No.7695) on 1 July 1968 as successor to the Victorian Licensing Court. The Liquor Control Commission was constituted by four members, the chairman being a County Court Judge. From 1975 the chairman could be any "judicial member". The Commission continued the practice of holding sittings at country and metropolitan locations.

  • Recordkeeping System
    Licence applications were recorded in chronological order by the date of the hearing or sitting
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Consignment Number Contents Date Range Public Access No. of Units
P0000 1886 - 1906 Open 2
P0001 1885 - 1954 Open 12
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