The idea of a system of land title registration originated with Sir Robert Torrens of Australia, and has generally become known as the "Torrens System." Sir Robert Torrens was a business man who had been a Collector of Customs in charge of shipping. In this position he became familiar with a law under which ships were registered, under the practice of which the registry showed the name or names of the owners of the vessel and all liens and incumbrances against it. It was required that all liens or claims be noted on the registry, so that any inspection would show briefly and simply the condition of the title. Later Sir Robert Torrens became Registrar-General of South Australia. His experience with shipping led him to believe that the principle of registration of titles could be applied to land as well as ships. In 1857 he introduced a bill providing for the registration of land titles. This bill became a law in South Australia January 27, 1858, and went into effect on July 1, 1858. The idea spread rapidly. British Honduras in Central America passed a Land Registering Act the same year, 1858. Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria followed in 1861. New South Wales in 1862, New Zealand in 1870, West Australia in 1874, Fiji in 1876. Other British colonies have since adopted the system.