The Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey was a ministerial portfolio in Victoria, Australia.
History In 1857 the Board of Land and Works was established because it was considered that the administration of public lands and public works would be more effectually and economically managed if it were consolidated and placed under one head. By Letters Patent of 28 April 1857, the positions of Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey (previously Surveyor-General) and Commissioner of Public Works were abolished and the powers previously exercised by the Commissioners were vested in the Board of Land and Works . The departments of the Civil Service previously under the Commissioners' control effectively became sub-departments of the Board. While there was clearly an intent to achieve consolidation, the extent to which the sub-departments were administratively integrated following the establishment of the Board in 1857 is uncertain and from late 1858 and the reappointment of a Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey and a Commissioner of Public Works, the sub-departments were clearly administratively separate.
Although a Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey had been reappointed to the Ministry in 1858, statutory authority for lands matters continued to be vested in the Board until its abolition in 1964.
Surveying By 1855, the Geological Survey had been associated with the administration of public lands and in 1857, following the establishment of the Board of Land and Works, this arrangement continued. By 1858 however responsibility for the geological survey had been transferred to the Chief Secretary's Department where it remained until 1861, despite the recommendation of the Civil Service Commission of 1859-60 that it be transferred to the department of the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey. In 1861 responsibility for the geological survey was assumed by the Commissioner of Mines and the newly established Department of Mines.
Immigration Assisted immigration was frequently associated with land settlement in Victoria and by 1906 the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey had become responsible for immigration in connection with land settlement and the augmenting of the labour force. By 1912 an Immigration and Labour Bureau had been established within the Department of Crown Lands and Survey.
Cemeteries By 1864 and until August 1873, the Commissioner of Public Works and the Public Works Department were responsible for the administration of cemeteries including the appointment of trustees and approval of regulations and fees. From 1873 until 1888 the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey and the Department of Crown Lands and Survey were responsible and in 1888 the Chief Secretary and the Chief Secretary's Department assumed responsibility. The Public Works Department however continued to be responsible for the allocation of fencing grants.
Abolition In 1983 the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands was established. The establishment of this Department reflected the Government's intention to consolidate the administration of all public lands matters in the one Department; to co-ordinate the use of land resources; to rationalise the many different local land management systems and authorities and to better co-ordinate the management of public lands with conservation requirements.
The new department assumed responsibility for all matters relating to survey and mapping, crown lands administration and the Royal Botanic Gardens and National Herbarium from the Department of Crown Lands and Survey.
Commissioners OrderMPParty affiliationTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes George Horne 11 March 1857 29 April 1857 Charles Gavan Duffy 21 December 1858 22 March 1859 George Evans 22 March 1859 27 October 1859 James Service 27 October 1859 3 September 1860 Vincent Pyke 3 September 1860 24 September 1860 Augustus Greeves 24 September 1860 26 November 1860 John Henry Brooke 26 November 1860 14 November 1861 Charles Gavan Duffy 14 November 1861 27 June 1863 Richard Heales 27 June 1863 19 June 1864 James Macpherson Grant 5 September 1864 6 May 1868 Duncan Gillies 6 May 1868 11 July 1868 James Macpherson Grant 11 July 1868 20 September 1869 James McKean 20 September 1869 9 April 1870 John Alexander MacPherson 9 April 1870 19 June 1871 James Macpherson Grant MLC 19 June 1871 10 June 1872 James Casey 10 June 1872 7 August 1875 Duncan Gillies 20 October 1875 21 May 1877 John Gavan Duffy 5 March 1880 3 August 1880 Richard Richardson 3 August 1880 9 July 1881 David Gaunson 9 July 1881 2 August 1881 Walter Madden 19 August 1881 8 March 1883 Albert Tucker 8 March 1883 18 February 1886 John Dow 18 February 1886 5 November 1890 Allan McLean 5 November 1890 23 January 1893 John McIntyre 23 January 1893 27 September 1894 Robert Best 27 September 1894 5 December 1899 James McColl 5 December 1899 19 November 1900 Daniel Joseph Duggan 19 November 1900 10 June 1902 Malcolm McKenzie 10 June 1902 28 January 1903 John William Taverner 6 February 1903 19 February 1904 John Murray 19 February 1904 15 August 1906 John Mackey 15 August 1906 31 October 1908 Thomas Hunt 31 October 1908 8 January 1909 Hugh McKenzie 8 January 1909 9 December 1913 William Plain 9 December 1913 22 December 1913 Harry Lawson 22 December 1913 9 November 1915 William Hutchinson 9 November 1915 29 November 1917 Frank Clarke MLC 29 November 1917 21 October 1919 Harry Lawson 21 October 1919 4 November 1920 David Oman 4 November 1920 7 September 1923 John Allan 7 September 1923 19 March 1924 David Oman 19 March 1924 18 July 1924 Henry Bailey 18 July 1924 18 November 1924 Alfred Downward 18 November 1924 20 May 1927 Henry Bailey 20 May 1927 22 November 1928 Henry Angus 22 November 1928 12 December 1929 Henry Bailey 12 December 1929 19 May 1932 Albert Dunstan 19 May 1932 20 March 1935 Thomas Maltby 20 March 1935 2 April 1935 Albert Lind 2 April 1935 1 January 1942 George Tuckett MLC 8 January 1942 14 September 1943 Daniel McNamara MLC 14 September 1943 18 September 1943 Albert Lind 18 September 1943 2 October 1945 Bill Galvin 21 November 1945 20 November 1947 John McDonald 20 November 1947 3 December 1948 Thomas Hollway 3 December 1948 8 December 1948 Rutherford Guthrie 8 December 1948 19 June 1950 William Leggatt 19 June 1950 27 June 1950 Albert Lind 27 June 1950 28 October 1952 John Hipworth 28 October 1952 31 October 1952 Albert Lind 31 October 1952 17 December 1952 Robert Holt 17 December 1952 15 December 1953 Joseph Smith 22 December 1953 7 June 1955 Henry Bolte 7 June 1955 8 June 1955 Keith Turnbull 8 June 1955 27 June 1964
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