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Series VPRS 9538
Court of Petty Sessions Index to Maintenance Cases
About this Series Related Series Accessing the records in this Series
Date Range: Series ? 1911 - ? 1964
  Series in Custody 1911 - 1964
  Contents 1911 - 1964
Public Access: Closed
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
1911 - 1964 Melbourne Courts VA 518
Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1911 - cont Melbourne Courts VA 518
Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series
  • How to use the Records
    How to Use this Series

    Look for the surname of the plaintiff under the appropriate alphabetical section. You may need to look through the whole alphabetical section to find the entry you are looking for. Make a note of the date of the order and, if given, the case number. Note also if there is any indication of which register the case is in - this may be in the form of a C in the margin, for City Court.

    With this information, consult the series information for the appropriate series of registers; either VPRS 463 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court Quasi Registers or VPRS 1665 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court City Court Registers. Information about the date of the case will allow you to identify which unit (volume) of the Register to consult and once you have this volume, entries in it will be in order of the date of conviction and also in order of the case number.

    Background: Maintenance for Deserted or Destitute Wives and Children

    The 1928 and 1965 Maintenance Acts and successive Marriage Acts established provisions for maintenance support to be provided by people who had left their spouses or children without means of support. Courts of Petty Sessions were empowered to hear complaints regarding desertion and to set levels and enforce the payment of maintenance. However the 1975 Commonwealth Family Law Act also has provision for the granting of maintenance and most orders are now made under this Act. A different record keeping system applies to maintenance records under the Family Law Act.

    Scope of the Series

    Little is known about this series. It is believed that it indexes cases which are registered in the general criminal registers of the Melbourne Magistrates Court. These are VPRS 463 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court Quasi Registers or VPRS 1665 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court City Court Registers After c1963 maintenance cases were recorded in VPRS 10672 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates Court Maintenance/Family Law Registers. Because these specific registers were created it is believed that indexes were no longer considered necessary after 1964.

    Content and Arrangement

    Each entry in the index gives details of the name of the plaintiff and defendant, the date of their hearing, a brief prcis of the particulars of the order (the amount and date on which payments should commence). The name of the adjudicating Magistrate is written for each case. Occasionally a case will have a date showing when it was sent to the Office of the Clerk of Peace, for General Sessions. This refers to the re-hearing of a case in the County Court when an appeal was lodged.

    Within each of the twenty-seven alphabetical sections of the index book (there is a section for "Mc"), entries were made in order of the date of the hearing. Hence entries are not in strict lexicographic order. Researchers will need to scan the alphabetical section for the surname of the person they are researching in order to find a reference to the date of the case and/or the case number.

  • Function / Content


  • Recordkeeping System
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Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
Controlled SeriesControlled Series
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
1911 - 1964 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court Quasi Register VPRS 463
1911 - 1964 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court City Court Register VPRS 1665
Previous SeriesPrevious Series
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Subsequent SeriesSubsequent Series
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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 1911 - 1964 Closed 2
Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
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