Item Type: Series

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Sydney City Council

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Registers of Deed Packets, 1838-1988 [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]
Index to Deed Packets, 1905-1988 [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]

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Items in this series (6,004)

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Boxes in this Series (288)

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Deed Packets I, 1838-1988 [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]

Description

Unique IDAS-0050DateBetween 1st January 1838 and 31st December 1988Date qualifiercircaFormatManila FolderShort descriptionThis series consists of the original or primary copy of records of ownership or leases of property held by Council, 1838-1988.
DescriptionThis series consists of the original or primary copy of records of ownership or leases of property held by Council, 1838-1988.

The Deed Packets are controlled by the:
- Registers of Deed Packets (AS-0212) for the period 15/09/1905 to 31/12/1988
- Index to Deed Packets (AS-0213) for the period 15/09/1905 to 31/12/1988.
They were created by:
- Administration Department (AG-0003) for the period 01/01/1984 to 31/12/1985
- Information Services (AG-0004) for the period 01/01/1986 to 31/12/1988
- Secretariat (AG-0015) for the period 01/01/1980 to 31/12/1983
- Administration Department (AG-0003) for the period 29/06/1970 to 31/12/1979, and
- Town Clerks Department (AG-0040) for the period 15/09/1905 to 29/06/1970.

The majority of deeds and leases were drawn up or signed under the supervision of Council's solicitors. However, since the series' inception, it has been maintained and controlled by a succession of departments.

Since its establishment in 1842, Council has leased, purchased or been granted land and properties. Documentation of Council's properties was not kept systematically until 1905, when the City Solicitor was asked ‘to advise as to titles of Council's properties and the cost of bringing the same under the provisions of the Real Property Act’ (Town Clerk's Report of 1905). To facilitate the process, an officer from the Land Titles Office was engaged to prepare a schedule and register of all the deeds and agreements held by the Town Clerk. The appointment of Mr Charles Ford was agreed to by Council on 15 September 1905. The Town Clerk was able to report the work as completed in his Annual Report for that year.

The deed packet series resulting from this process is controlled by two different numbering systems. One is organised alphabetically by name of street (of the property), the other is a single number system.

The alpha-numeric sequence appears in part to have been constructed retrospectively. Its contents date back to 1838 (a lease for land in Kent Street), although some of the documents of that age are in fact typed copies of extracts from deeds of Crown grants, not originals. The items are divided into alphabetical groups by name of the street in which the property is located. They have been put into rough chronological order within alphabetical groups and given a number after the relevant initial. Thus A1 is Argyle Street, Millers Point, A3 is Athlone Place.

There are anomalies. For example, the land granted by the Crown in 1846, which is now occupied by the Queen Victoria Building, is not registered by its George or York Street address, but as Q4. The W group includes Council's loan authorities (W8) and land resumption documentation (W9).

The alpha-numeric sequence is short, approximately 75 extant items, finishing around 1912. It may have been assembled as late as 1935 since the register gives file references of that date in the same writing.

The single number sequence seems to have commenced in 1904/1905, so its contents overlap with that of the alpha-numeric sequence. The first items of the single number sequence date from 1871, so possibly the earlier part of this sequence was also assembled retrospectively. The single number sequence continued until 1988, when it was replaced by Deed Packets Computerised Registration System (AS-0340).

The series (both sequences) is indexed by two index volumes which refer to the registers of the completed deed packets. The index gives the page reference in the register for each item. The register records the deed packet number by which the document may be retrieved. Both the alpha-numeric sequence and the single number sequence are recorded in the registers. The entries in the register are quite detailed and often list all the documents in a particular deed packet.

In 1938 and 1941 an audit of the deed packets was conducted by the Auditor-General's Department. The papers were checked for contents, which is noted in the registers in red ink. The packets were then closed, sealed and stamped with an Auditor-General's stamp.

The deed packets were made up at the conclusion of the transaction. The documents were registered in the register (against one number), placed in a large envelope and passed to the Archives Section to be stored securely.

The deed packets may contain originals or copies. The transactions they record generally concern property but may also include agreements about services. If they hold copies, the original documents are generally held on the relevant correspondence file. The number of the correspondence file on which the transaction is recorded is noted on the envelope holding the documents.

A number of deed packets were transferred in October 1936 to the Sydney County Council (subsequently Sydney Electricity) when it was first established. The entries in the registers were stamped and signed for by a Sydney County Council Officer and the deed packet replaced by a cardboard sheet indicating it has been transferred to the County Council.

Amalgamations
There have been a number of alterations made to the boundaries of Sydney City Council since 1908 and these alterations are reflected in the deed packet series.

In 1908 Camperdown Municipal Council was abolished and its area placed under the Sydney City Council. Legal documents still in force were transferred to the deed packet series, documents such as the title deeds to the Town Hall (item 85) and the agreement with the Australia Gas Light Company to provide gas lighting for Camperdown. The documents were made up into deed packets and registered in the deed packet series.

In 1949, there was a major reorganisation of Local Government boundaries. The Municipal Councils of Redfern, Waterloo, Alexandria, Darlington, Erskineville, Newtown, Glebe and Paddington were abolished. The boundaries of the Sydney City Council now incorporated those areas, and as in the case of Camperdown Municipal Council, legal documents of those Councils, which were still in force, were incorporated into the deed packet series.

In 1968 there was another reorganisation of boundaries, which resulted in the establishment of Northcott Municipal Council and the redistribution of certain areas from the City Council's area to Woollahra, Leichhardt and Marrickville Municipal Councils. Northcott Council (later renamed South Sydney Municipal Council), took in the areas which were formerly managed by Redfern, Waterloo, Darlington, Alexandria, Newtown, and Erskineville Councils. A large number of deed packets from this series were removed from it and transferred to South Sydney Municipal Council, Woollahra, Leichhardt and Marrickville.

Entries in the registers for the items transferred to the various Councils have been annotated, stamped and signed for. The items were listed and recorded on files in Town Clerk's Correspondence Files (AS-0034). The file numbers have been noted against the relevant entries in the registers. In the case of items transferred to Northcott Municipal Council, these were registered in a new South Sydney Municipal Council series with new numbers (AS-0082). These new numbers were written on the front of the deed packet and circled in ink. The transfer particularly affected legal documents which had been transferred from the Councils abolished in 1948.

In 1981, South Sydney Municipal Council was abolished and the area re-amalgamated with Sydney City Council from 1 January 1982. The records, including deed packets, were transferred to the Archives of Sydney City Council, where they have been maintained separately in AS-0082.

In 1989, the boundaries were reorganised again, with South Sydney City Council being created out of the old South Sydney Municipal Council area plus parts of Moore Park, Woolloomooloo, Surry Hills, Kings Cross, Darlinghurst and Potts Point. As the original documents on deed packets were required by South Sydney City Council, the contents of the deed packets were copied, the original papers being forwarded to South Sydney, but the deed packets and copies of the papers were kept by Sydney City Council. However, a number of deed packets that had been on loan to South Sydney City Council under cross-servicing arrangements were never returned.

Note: The series was created between 15/09/1905 and 31/12/1988. Content predates the series record.
Relationship summaryRELATED TO: Deeds Registers AS-1085 (15/09/1905 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Copies of Council Leases AS-0754 (01/01/1914 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: City Solicitors Packets AS-0056 (c. 09/11/1843 to 15/06/1977)
RELATED TO: Central Activity Files AS-0116 (05/01/1979 to 31/12/1987)
RELATED TO: Resumptions of land AY-0026 (01/01/1890 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Contractual arrangements for the supply of goods and services AY-0077 (09/11/1842 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Legal services AY-0067 (09/11/1842 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Management of Council property AY-0019 (09/11/1842 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Purchase and sale of land and buildings AY-0018 (09/11/1842 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Construction and maintenance of buildings and structures AY-0001 (06/07/1844 to 31/12/1988)
LanguageEnglish (eng)

Access

Public access statusOpen to public access

Identification and Arrangement

Source system ID50System of arrangementVarious - see descriptive note

Digitisation

Digitisation statusNot digitised

Data Quality

Authenticity & integrityThese are Deed Packets held by the Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney. The record has been held in the Council’s custody and has a high level of authenticity.

Relationships

OrganisationSydney City CouncilControlled by seriesRegisters of Deed Packets, 1838-1988 [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]Index to Deed Packets, 1905-1988 [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]Related seriesCentral Activity Files, 1979-1987City Solicitor's Packets, 1834-1977 [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]Copies of Council Leases, 1914-1989Deeds Registers, 1831-1991 [Sydney City Council /South Sydney City Council]Creating agenciesAdministration DepartmentTown Clerk's DepartmentSecretariatInformation ServicesRelated activitiesConstruction and maintenance of buildings and structuresPurchase and sale of land and buildingsManagement of Council propertyLegal servicesContractual arrangements for the supply of goods and servicesResumptions of land

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Deed Packets I, 1838-1988 [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]