Board of Land and Works

The Board of Land and Works was a government authority in Victoria, Australia. It was established by an act of parliament in 1857, with the aim of consolidating and coordinating the administration of public lands and public works. Consequently, the two positions of Commissioner of Public Works and Surveyor General or Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey were abolished.

Throughout its existence, the Board of Land and Works was responsible for matters involving public works and public lands. At various stages, it also had responsibility for railways from 1857 to 1884, for railway construction from 1892 to 1964, for main roads and bridges from 1858 until 1913, for sewage and water supply in Melbourne from 1859 to 1890, for rural water supply from c.1860 until 1910, for Aboriginal welfare from 1857 until 1860, and for local government from 1857 to 1958. Carrying out those functions was delegated to sub-departments of the board, many of which became departments of the state government after the abolition of the board in 1964.

In its first report to parliament in 1891, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways recommended that the construction of new railway lines be separated from the management of railway traffic and maintenance. As a result, the Railway Construction Branch of the Board of Land and Works was set up. The Minister for Railways (the Minister for Transport after 1934) was made, ex officio, one of the vice-presidents of the Board, which was a return to the situation which had existed prior to the transfer of the management of the railways to the Victorian Railways Commissioners in 1883-1884.