Our First Half-Century: A Review of Queensland Progress Based Upon Official Information

by Queensland

LAND SELECTION IN QUEENSLAND.

[OFFICIAL COMPILATION.]

The State is divided into Land Agents' Districts, in the principal town of each of which there is a Government Land Office and Land Agent. Plans and information respecting the quality, rents, and prices of lands available for selection may be obtained on personal or written application to the Land Agent of the District in which the land is situated, or to the Officer in Charge, Inquiry Office, Department of Public Lands, Brisbane.

Land is opened or made available for Selection by proclamation in the Government Gazette. The proclamation, which is made not less than four weeks before the time appointed for the opening, specifies the modes in which the land may be selected, the area, rent, price, &c.

The several modes of Selection for which the law provides are—(1) Agricultural Selections, i.e., Agricultural Farms, Perpetual Leases, Agricultural Homesteads, and Free Homesteads; (2) Grazing Selections, i.e., Grazing Farms and Grazing Homesteads; (3) Scrub Selections; (4) Unconditional Selections; and (5) Prickly Pear Selections. The more accessible lands are usually set apart for agricultural selection in areas up to 1,280 acres, or, if pear infested, as Prickly Pear Selections in areas up to 5,000 acres; while opportunities of acquiring Grazing Selections in areas up to 60,000 acres are given over a great extent of Queensland territory.

Except in the case of Scrub Selections, Unconditional Selections, and Prickly Pear Selections, no person who is under the age of sixteen years, or who seeks to acquire the land as the agent or servant or trustee of another, will be allowed to select. A single girl under the age of twenty-one years is debarred from selecting an Agricultural Homestead, Free Homestead, or Grazing Homestead. A married woman is not competent to select a Homestead unless she has obtained an order for judicial separation or an order protecting her separate property, or is living apart from her husband and has been specially empowered by the Land Court to select a Homestead. A married woman may, however, acquire a Grazing Homestead by transfer after the expiry of five years of the term of lease. An alien may, under certain conditions, acquire a selection, but, unless he becomes a naturalised British subject within three years thereafter, all his right, title, and interest in the land will become forfeited.

Applications for selections must be made in the prescribed form, in triplicate, and be lodged with the Land Agent for the District in which the land is situated.

FARM SCENE, BLACKALL RANGE

SISAL HEMP, CHILDERS, NORTH COAST RAILWAY

WOOL TEAMS, LONGREACH, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND

They must be signed by the applicant, but may be lodged in the Land Office by his duly constituted attorney, and must be accompanied by the prescribed deposit. In the case of a Prickly Pear Selection the deposit must be the full amount of the prescribed survey fee, and in other cases, except Free Homesteads, a year's rent and one-fifth of the survey fee. In the case of a Free Homestead application the deposit consists of an application fee of £1 and one-fifth of the survey fee. Ordinarily, applications take priority in the order of their being lodged with the Land Agent, but applications lodged prior to the time proclaimed as that at which land is to be open for selection are regarded as simultaneous with those lodged at that time.

If land is open for Selection in two or more modes alternatively, and there are simultaneous applications to select it under different modes, priority among such applications is given to an application for the land as an Agricultural Homestead as against an application for it as an Agricultural Farm; to an application for it as an Agricultural Farm as against an application for it as an Unconditional Selection; and, if the land is open for Grazing Selection, to an application for it as a Grazing Homestead as against an application for it as a Grazing Farm.

In the case of simultaneous applications for the same land, as an Agricultural Farm, priority is secured by an applicant, other than a married woman or a single girl under twenty-one years of age, who, when making application, undertakes to personally reside on the land during the first five years of the term. In other cases of simultaneous applications for the same land by the same mode of selection, priority is determined by lot, unless in the case of simultaneous applications for the same land as a Grazing Selection, Unconditional Selection, or Prickly Pear Selection, a higher rental is tendered than that proclaimed. In that event the tender most favourable to the Crown secures priority.

Under the Special Selections Act land may be set apart for any body of settlers who, having some measure of common interest or capacity for mutual help, are desirous of acquiring land in the same locality. The procedure to be followed is for a request to be made to the Minister by the members of the body, explaining the grounds on which they are co-operating and setting out the land they desire to acquire. Should the request be acceded to, the land will be opened for selection in the usual way, but for a period to be set out in the proclamation it will only be available for the members of the body of settlers for whom it has been set apart.

When an application has been accepted by the Land Commissioner and approved by the Land Court, and the applicant has paid for any improvements there may be on the land, he becomes entitled to receive a license to occupy the land in the case of an Agricultural Selection or a Grazing Selection, or a lease in the case of a Scrub Selection, Unconditional Selection, or Prickly Pear Selection. Within six months after the issue of a license, the selector must commence to occupy the land, and must thereafter continue to occupy it in the manner prescribed.

AGRICULTURAL SELECTIONS.

Agricultural Farms.

The largest area that may be acquired by any one person as an Agricultural Farm is 1,280 acres. If the same person is the selector of both an Agricultural Farm and an Agricultural Homestead, the joint areas must not exceed 1,280 acres. The purchasing price may range from 10s. an acre upwards, as may be declared by proclamation. The term is twenty years. The annual rent is one-fortieth of the purchasing price, and the payments are credited as part of the price.

The land must be continuously occupied by the selector residing personally on it or by his manager or agent doing so. Within five years from the issue of the license to occupy, or such extended time as the Court may allow, the selector must enclose the land with a good and substantial fence, or make substantial and permanent improvements on it equal in value to such a fence. On the completion of the improvements the selector becomes entitled to a lease of the farm, and may thereafter mortgage it; or, with the permission of the Minister, may subdivide or transfer it; or, with the approval of the Court, may underlet it.

The selector of an Agricultural Farm, who has obtained priority by undertaking to reside personally thereon during the first five years of the lease, must comply strictly with that undertaking, and is not allowed during such period to mortgage, transfer, or assign the holding.

After five years of the term have elapsed, the prescribed conditions of occupation and improvement having been duly performed, a deed of grant may be obtained on payment of the balance of the purchasing price and deed fees.

Perpetual Lease Selections.

Land proclaimed to be open for Agricultural Farm Selection may also be opened for Perpetual Lease Selection, and the latter mode may be conceded priority of application over the former. The rent for the first period of ten years of the lease is 1½ per cent. on the proclaimed purchasing price of the land for Agricultural Farm Selection. The rent for each succeeding period of ten years shall be determined by the Land Court. The same conditions of occupation and improvement as are prescribed for Agricultural Farms are attached to Perpetual Lease Selections, and, except as specially prescribed, the provisions relating to Agricultural Farms apply to them also. As the name implies, the selections are leases in perpetuity, and are not capable of being converted to freeholds.

Agricultural Homesteads.

Land open for selection as Agricultural Farms is not available for Agricultural Homesteads unless so proclaimed. The area allowed to be selected as an Agricultural Homestead varies with the value of the land, and is fixed by proclamation within the following limits, viz.:—160 acres in the case of land valued for Agricultural Farm Selection at not less than £1 an acre; 320 acres in the case of land valued at less than £1 but not less than 15s. an acre; and 640 acres in the case of land valued at less than 15s. an acre. The price for an Agricultural Homestead is 2s. 6d. an acre, the annual rent 3d. an acre, and the term ten years.

The land must be continuously occupied by the selector residing personally thereon.

Within five years from the issue of the license to occupy, or such extended time as the Land Court may allow, the selector must enclose the land with a good and substantial fence, or make substantial and permanent improvements on it equal in value to such fence. On the completion of the improvements the selector becomes entitled to a lease, which, however, is not negotiable in any way.

At any time after five years from the commencement of the term, on the selector proving that the conditions have been duly performed and that the sum expended in improvements on the land has been at the rate of 10s., 5s., or 2s. 6d. an acre respectively according to the value of the land, he may pay up the remaining rents so as to make his total payments equal to 2s. 6d. an acre, and obtain a deed of grant of the land in fee-simple. A deed fee must be paid.

Free Homesteads.

Land is not available for Free Homestead Selection unless specially so proclaimed, and the area of no selection must exceed 160 acres. The term is five years, and during that period the selector must occupy the land by personally residing on it, and must effect improvements to the total value of 10s. per acre. A Free Homestead cannot be sold or mortgaged until a deed of grant is obtained.

GRAZING SELECTIONS.

Grazing Farms.

The greatest area which may be applied for as a Grazing Farm under any circumstances is 60,000 acres, but, as in the case of other modes of selection, each proclamation opening land for grazing selection declares the maximum area which may be selected in the area to which it applies. In the event of lands open under different proclamations and of a total area exceeding 20,000 acres being applied for by the same person, a rental limitation of £200 per annum must be observed as well as the maximum areas declared by the several proclamations. Thus, of lands open at 2d. an acre, the greatest area obtainable would be 24,000 acres; at 1½d. an acre, 32,000 acres, and so on. The term may be fourteen, twenty-one, or twenty-eight years, as the opening proclamation may declare. The annual rent for the first period of seven years may range from ½d. an acre upwards, as may be proclaimed or tendered. The rent for each subsequent period of seven years will be determined by the Land Court.

A Grazing Farm must be continuously occupied by the selector residing personally on it, or by his manager or agent doing so.

Within three years from the issue of the license to occupy, or such extended time as the Land Court may allow, the selector must enclose the land with a good and substantial fence, and must keep it so fenced during the whole of the term. In the case of two or more contiguous farms, not exceeding in the aggregate 20,000 acres, the Court may by Special License permit the selectors to fence only the outside boundaries of the whole area. If the proclamation declaring the land open for selection so prescribed, the enclosing fence must be of such character as to prevent the passage of rabbits. In the case of a group of contiguous Grazing Farms not exceeding eight in number, or 200 square miles in total area, and which are situated within a District constituted under "The Rabbit Boards Act, 1896," the Court may by Special License permit the enclosure of the whole area with a fence of such character as to prevent the passage of rabbits, instead of requiring each farm to be separately enclosed.

The selectors of a group of two or more Grazing Farms, the area of none of which exceeds 4,000 acres, may associate together for mutual assistance, and on making proof of bona fides to the Commissioner may receive from him a Special License enabling not less than one-half of the whole number by their personal residence on some one or more of the farms to perform the condition of occupation in respect of all the farms.

When a Grazing Farm is enclosed in the manner required, the selector becomes entitled to a lease of it, and may thereafter mortgage it; or, with the permission of the Minister, may subdivide or transfer it; or, with the approval of the Court, may underlet it.

Grazing Homesteads.

Land open for selection as Grazing Farms must also be open for selection as Grazing Homesteads, and at the same rental and for the same term of lease. As already stated, an application to select as a Grazing Homestead takes precedence of a simultaneous application to select the same land as a Grazing Farm. The requirements of the law as regards Grazing Homesteads are the same as in the case of Grazing Farms, except in the following respects:—

(1.) During the first five years of the term of a Grazing Homestead the condition of occupation must be performed by the continuous personal residence of the selector on the land.

(2.) Before the expiration of five years from the commencement of the term, or the death of the original lessee, whichever first happens, a Grazing Homestead is not capable of being assigned or transferred. Unless with the special permission of the Minister, a Grazing Homestead may not be mortgaged.

SCRUB SELECTIONS.

Lands entirely or extensively overgrown by scrub may be opened for selection as Scrub Selections up to 10,000 acres in area and with a term of thirty years. These are classed according to the proportion covered by scrub, and for periods varying from five to twenty years, according to the classification, no rent is chargeable. During the first period the selector must clear the whole of the scrub in equal proportions each year, and must keep it cleared, and must enclose the selection with a good and substantial fence. The annual rent payable for the subsequent periods ranges from ½d. to 1d. an acre. A negotiable lease is issued to the selector when his application has been approved by the Court.

UNCONDITIONAL SELECTIONS.

The greatest area allowed to be acquired by any one person as an Unconditional Selection in one district is 1,280 acres; the price per acre ranges from 13s. 4d. upwards, and is payable in twenty annual instalments. As the term implies, no other condition than the payment of the purchase money is attached to this mode of selection. A negotiable lease for the term of twenty years is issued to the selector when his application to select has been approved by the Court. A deed of grant may be obtained at any time on payment of the balance of the purchasing price and the deed fee.

PRICKLY PEAR SELECTIONS.

Prickly Pear Infested Selections.

Prickly Pear Infested Selections comprise lands heavily infested with prickly pear. The area must not exceed 5,000 acres.

The term is fifteen years, with a peppercorn rental for the first ten years and an annual rent of one-fifth of the purchasing price for the remaining five years. During the first ten years of the term the land must be absolutely cleared of prickly pear—one-tenth of the pear being eradicated during each year—and must be kept clear for the remainder of the term. The freehold may be obtained prior to the expiry of the term on proof being made that the land has been maintained free from prickly pear for three years consequent on the eradication having been completed in advance of the prescribed period.

Prickly Pear Frontage Selections.

Prickly Pear Frontage Selections are confined to proclaimed prickly pear frontage areas, comprising lands free from or only lightly infested with prickly pear, but which adjoin and do not extend for more than seven miles from lands heavily infested. The greatest area allowed is 5,000 acres.

The term is fifteen years, with a peppercorn rental for the first five years and an annual rent of one-tenth of the purchasing price during the remaining ten years. During the first five years of the term the land must be absolutely cleared of prickly pear, one-fifth of the pear being eradicated during each year, and must be kept clear during the balance of the term. The freehold may be obtained prior to the expiry of the term on proof being made that the land has been maintained free from prickly pear for three years consequent on the eradication having been completed in advance of the prescribed period.

Prickly Pear (Bonus) Selections.

In the case of Prickly Pear (Bonus) Selections, the freehold of the land, and a bonus in addition, are granted in return for the complete eradication of the pear. The maximum amount per acre payable as bonus is stated in the opening proclamation, but each applicant must lodge a tender specifying a bonus per acre not in excess of that mentioned in the proclamation. In the case of simultaneous applications for the same land, priority attaches to the lowest tender. The size of the portions opened must not exceed 2,560 acres. The term of lease is ten years, at a peppercorn rental throughout. The land must be absolutely cleared of prickly pear during the first seven years—one-seventh each year—and the clearing must be maintained until the expiry of the lease. One-seventh of the bonus payable may be claimed at the end of each of the first seven years of the term, on proof to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that the condition of eradication has been complied with. If the eradication is completed at an earlier date than is required by the conditions of the lease, the balance of the bonus will then become payable. The freehold may be obtained prior to the expiry of the term on proof being made that the land has been maintained free from prickly pear for three years consequent on the eradication having been completed in advance of the prescribed period.

OTHER MODES OF ACQUISITION.

Crown lands may be acquired in fee-simple by auction purchase in areas up to 5,120 acres. There is no limitation to the area of freehold land which may be held by any one person. The minimum purchasing price for agricultural land bought at auction is £1 an acre, and for other land 10s. an acre. Terms up to ten years may be allowed, with interest at 5 per cent. per annum on instalments paid after six months from the time of sale, or the purchaser may elect to hold the land as a lease in perpetuity at a rental, for the first ten years, equal to 3 per cent. of the purchasing price, and for such rent for each succeeding period of ten years as the Land Court may determine.

Opportunity is also afforded for the occupation of Crown lands for pastoral purposes from year to year under an occupation license, or for a fixed term not exceeding forty-two years under pastoral lease. There is no limitation to the area which may be held by one person under either of these tenures.