Hello Listers, I have searched in vain on my computer for a reply I sent several years ago re prospecting licences or miner's licences. If I find it, I will put it up again. It would answer all such questions However, the gist of this was: These were annual licences. The method was similar to the raffle ticket books with stub. On the main certificate was the man's name, the goldfield he was prospecting, the signature of the officer who received the fee. This part was torn off and handed to the applicant. The stub remaining merely gave the name of the man, the amount of the annual registration fee. Tens of thousands of these certificates were printed and issued. With the new year, the old certificates were redundant. Most miners threw theirs away when they re-registered for the ensuing year. Most mine officers discarded the out-of-date stubs. The miners so quickly moved from one field to another that 10,000 could be issued for one field in one year, and only 350 issued in the ensueing year for the same field, then zero. Mining sites were deserted overnight when rumours of a new strike circulated. Pity the poor schoolteacher who had just received permission to set up his school, only to find the seats empty just as his permission arrived! It was a volatile time. I don't know about Ballarat and Bendigo, but I do know the following stubs are in the Victorian Public Record Office Melbourne. You might need to call the Ballarat VPRO to check their meagre holdings (if any) Miners Right Stubs: Castlemaine 1919 to 1925 one box VPRS 3540 Inglewood 1860 to 1920 four boxes VPRS 491 Waranga 1865 to 1868 one volume VPRS 398 Regards Ada >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Jan Mumford" <jan.mumford@tics.com.au> >To: <AUS-VIC-GOLDFIELDS-L@rootsweb.com> >Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2005 3:11 PM >Subject: RE: prospectors licenses > > Dear All > > > > I would love to know the answer to this one too. > > Regards > > Jan Mumford > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Ian.Harrison@csiro.au [mailto:Ian.Harrison@csiro.au] > > Sent: Sunday, 18 December 2005 1:45 PM > > To: AUS-VIC-GOLDFIELDS-L@rootsweb.com > > Subject: prospectors licenses > > > > Dear all, > > I have had a bit of bad luck with two fairly significant ancestors, my > > GG and G grandfathers, "they disappeared without trace" its thought that > > went to the goldfields in Victoria and this could be true as it was > > about the right time for each one of them. > > My question is: are there indexes or searchable registers for > > prospectors licenses on the Victorian goldfields and maybe WA's ? > > Many thanks > > IanH regards, Ada Ackerly, Melbourne, Australia formerly Ackerly DocuSearch -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.1/206 - Release Date: 16-12-05