Record series
Court of Mines Ledger
VPRS 5227
1858 - 1864
Open
Ballarat
Agencies
This record series was created by:
Ararat Courts ( VA903 ): 1858 - 1864
Agencies responsible for this record series: Melbourne Courts ( VA 518 ): 2002 - present
Date Range
Series date range: 1858 - 1864
Series in custody:
1858 - 1864
Contents in custody:
1858 - 1864
Function / Content
This series was created to record financial information connected with management of cases heard before local Courts of Mines.The requirement to create this record was originally provided by Section 18 of the Gold Fields Act 1857. Under this section the Clerk of Courts was required to "keep an account of all court fees and fines payable or paid into court and of all moneys paid into and out of court and shall enter an account of all such fees fines and moneys in ledgers belonging to the court to be kept by them for that purpose..". The ledger appears to have been one of at least three volumes established under the 1857 Act to record information about cases brought before it, the other two being the Court of Mines Register and, until c.1865, the Court of Mines Journal.
Each case recorded in the journal was given the same case number as that for the com[plaint] recorded in the Register. Information recorded included the [com]plaint number and amounts paid or received relating to a large number of court processes including the issuing of summons, orders, document filing, affidavits, bonds, securities, Bailiff's fees, fines and authorities to obtain money from the Court. Each of these processes is identified in separate columns within the folio. The names of the parties to an action are not recorded as this information was to be found in the Register.
How to use the records
Cases were entered in a Court of Mines Ledger in complaint (i.e case) number order as established in the relevant Court of Mines Register.Please note that the Court of Mines Ledger does not record the names of the parties to a case.
