Church and School Lands Act 1897 (NSW)

Act No. 20, 1897.

An Act to vest the Church and School Lands in Her Majesty, free from all trusts and pro­ visions affecting- the same ; to validate certain dealings with those lands ; and to provide for the appropriation of moneys at credit of the Public Instruction Endowment Account; to make better provision for dealing with the said lands, and with the money derived there­ from ; and for purposes incidental to the above

objects. [2nd December, 1897.]

BE it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative	Assembly of New South Wales in Parliament assembled, and by the
authority of the same, as follows :—

1. The Church and School Lands are hereby vested in Her

Majesty, free from all trusts and provisions affecting the same, but subject to the provisions of the Crown Lands Act of 1884, and any Acts amending the same, and of the Mining Act, 1874, and any Acts
amending the same, and of this Act, and shall be dealt with under the said Acts as Crown lands (as respectively defined in the Crown Lands

Act of 1881 and the Mining Act, 1874) arc respectively dealt with

under the said Acts :

Provided that nothing in this section shall affect any right,

title, or interest to or in any such lands existing on the day when

(c) granting special or annual leases.

this Act takes effect except in so far as such right, title, or interest may he affected by the exercise of any power conferred by the Mining

Act of 1871 , or any Acts amending the same :

Provided also that, until a notification in respect of Church and

School Lands has been published in the Gazette under the provisions

of section ten of the Crown Lands Act of 1895, no such lands shall be

dealt with under the provisions of the Crown Lands Act of 1884, or

any Acts amending the same, except by—

( a ) reserving or dedicating the same for any purpose;

( b ) issuing licenses ; or

2. All reservations, dedications, leases, and agreements made

or entered into under the Church and School Lands Dedication Act,

1880, or any Act amending the same, by the " Minister " as defined by

that Act, before the day on which this Act takes effect of or in respect

of any such lands, and all leases granted or renewed before the said

day under the said Acts by the Minister aforesaid in pursuance of such leases and agreements shall, notwithstanding any prerogative rights of the Crown, be deemed to have been and to be good, valid, and

effectual to all intents and purposes whatsoever.

3 . The Governor, by notification in the Gazette, may revoke

wholly or in part any reservation or dedication of any such lands

made before the commencement of this Act.

4 . The holder of a lease or leases granted by the Crown or in

pursuance of Letters Patent, bearing date the ninth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, or of the Church and School Lands Dedication Act, 1880 (other than a lease for mining purposes), existing on the day on which this Act takes effect of any Church and

School Lands may, within six months after the said day, apply to the

person and in the manner prescribed to convert the lease or leases into any of the following holdings under the Crown Lands Act of

1884, and any Acts amending the same (subject, however, to the

provisions of section nine of this Act in respect of rental), namely—

(a) a homestead selection ;

(b) a settlement lease;

(c) a special lease ;

(d) an improvement lease ; or

(e) where the land which is the subject of the application consists

of suburban lots not exceeding in the whole ten acres in area,

or town lots not exceeding in the whole two acres in area, a special purchase under the provisions of sections sixty-six and

sixty-eight of the Crown Lands Act of 1 8 8 4 : Provided that nothing in section sixty-six of that Act shall be held to limit
In fee-simple of adjacent lands. the sale of land under this Act to the proprietor or proprietors

Every applicant as aforesaid shall forward with his application the fee prescribed, and the Minister shall notify in the Gazette the receipt of every such application. Any person interested in the land which is the subject of the application may, within one month, lodge with the person and in the manner prescribed any objections to the confirmation of the application.

5 . Every application as aforesaid shall be referred by the

Minister to the local land board for report, and the said board shall

thereupon, after inquiry, report whether the application shall or shall not be confirmed, and may recommend the confirmation of the application as to the whole or any part of the land the subject of the

applicat ion;

application; and if the hoard recommend that the application he confirmed as to part only of the said land, they may, subject to the provisions of the next succeeding section, recommend that the balance

of the land be set apart for a holding of the kind applied for, or for

some other kind of holding under the Crown Lands Act of 1831, and
the Acts amending the same.

The board shall also recommend the conditions which shall attach to any holding mentioned in their report.

6. When any such application as aforesaid is for the conversion

of the lease or leases aforesaid into a homestead selection or settlement
lease, the local land board shall also report as to the area of such land,

which with the area of any other adjoining land held by the applicant under conditional purchase or conditional lease, they deem would be
sufficient to enable the applicant to establish and maintain a home

thereon by the use of the land.

7. On any application as aforesaid for the conversion of any

lease or leases into a special lease, the local land board may recommend

the leasing of any area not exceeding three hundred and twenty
acres, and shall recommend the annual rent to be paid and the

conditions which shall be attached to the said lease, but it shall not be
necessary for the board to recommend the granting of, or for the

Governor to grant, the special lease for a special purpose.

8 . (I) On receipt of a report by a local land board in respect of any application for conversion of any lease or leases into a holding under this Act, the Minister shall determine whether the application shall or shall not be confirmed, and to what extent and subject to what condi­ tions it shall be confirmed, and shall forthwith notify his decision to the applicant, who shall within three months notify his acceptance; of

or refusal to accept the said decision to the Minister in the prescribed

manner; and the omission of the applicant to notify his acceptance within the said three months or within such further period as the

Minister may allow shall be taken to be a refusal to accept:

Provided that no application as aforesaid shall be confirmed for ment lease of a larger area than taken with any other adjoining land	the conversion of any lease or leases into a homestead sclection or settle­
held by the applicant under conditional purchase or conditional lease
is sufficient to enable the applicant to establish and maintain a home
thereon by the use of the land ; and no application as aforesaid shall
be confirmed for the conversion of any lease or leases into a holding
of any class unless or until all rents due to the Crown at the rate
reserved for the original term of the lease arc paid to the Colonial Treasurer.
9. Upon the date of the acceptance by the applicant of the decision of the Minister the existing lease of the whole of the land in respect of which the application was made shall determine, and the

title

title to every holding into which the lease or leases is or are converted under this Act shall commence, and every homestead selection and settlement lease into which the lease or leases has or have been so converted shall he deemed to have been confirmed within the meaning

of the Crown Lands Act of 1895, and any Acts amending the same.
Where, on the conversion of any lease or leases into a homestead selection or settlement lease, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister that the applicant has bona tide resided and desires to continue
to so reside in an adjacent village or town, or on land adjacent to the land comprised in the homestead selection or settlement lease, and has held or used and desires to continue to hold or use the said lands in conjunction, and that the area of the adjacent land as aforesaid taken with the area of the land comprised in the homestead selection or settle­ ment lease is not more than sufficient to enable the applicant to establish and maintain a home thereon by the use of the land, the

Minister may allow the applicant to continue his residence in an

adjacent village or town or on the adjacent land, and such residence

shall, for the purpose of the performance of any conditions as to

residence required by the Crown Lands Act of 1895, or by the pro­ visions of any lease made thereunder, be deemed, for the period during which it continues, to be a residence on the homestead selection or settlement lease as the case may be.
The annual rental of any holding converted under this Act into
a holding under the Crown Lands Acts, in respect of which rent is

payable, shall for the first period of ten years after acceptance of the decision of the Minister be appraised and determined (irrespective of improvements the property of the holder) in accordance with the provisions of section six of the Crown Lands Act of 18S9, and shall in

like manner be appraised and determined for every succeeding period

of ten years, or lesser period, for which rent is payable in respect of

the holding.

10. Tenant-right in improvements as defined by the Crown

Lands Act of 1895 shall accrue upon the determination of any lease, or

agreement for a lease, of Church and School Lands granted or entered

into before the day on which this Act takes effect, or of any lease

granted or renewed after the said day in pursuance of a lease or agreement for a lease granted before the said day, and shall entitle the outgoing tenant to the rights conferred by section fifty-one of the Crown Lands Act of 1893 on the determination of any lease by reason of which tenant-right is by that Act conferred : Provided that nothing in this section shall entitle the outgoing tenant to receive a greater amount as the value of the improvements than the cost of the improve­ ments.

11. (I) The holder of a lease for mining purposes of any Church

and Schoo. Lands may within six months after the commencement of

this

this Act apply to the prescribed person and in the prescribed manner to convert the lease into a lease for the purpose of mining for gold or a lease for the purposes of mining for metals and minerals other than gold under the Mining Act, 1874, and any Acts amending the same.

( i i ) Every such application shall be dealt with in the pre­

scribed manner, and the Minister may refuse the application, or may confirm the same as to the whole or any part of the land, the subject of the application, with or without such exemptions and conditions as be may think fit, and shall notify his refusal or confirmation to the applicant.

( i i i )    Upon the notification of confirmation of an application,

and upon its acceptance by the applicant the lease for mining purposes shall determine, and shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be converted into a lease for the purpose of mining for gold, or of mining for metals or minerals other than gold respectively, under the pro­ visions of the Mining Act, 1874, and any Acts amending the same; and the provisions of the said Acts shall apply to any lease converted
as aforesaid.
12. Where a lease of Church and School lands (other than a lease for mining purposes) is not converted under the provisions of this Act, the holder of the lease may within twelve months after the day on which this Act takes effect make application in the prescribed manner, accompanied by the prescribed fee, to have the rent appraised and determined in accordance with the provisions of section six of the Crown Lands Act of 1889. The rent shall thereupon be appraised and determined, and shall from the time when the application was made, and until the expiry or other determination of the lease in respect of which the application was made, be the rent payable under the said lease, or any renewal thereof, made in pursuance of the instrument creating the lease.
And the Minister may, in respect of any period for which a

lease is renewed, and which period is current at the time when an

application for appraisement is made, remit in whole or in part any
amount which, at the time of such application, is due as rent in excess
of the amount of the rent which would for the said period and up to the time of the said application have been payable, if the rent for that period and up to that time had been the rent determined as aforesaid.
13. It shall be lawful for the Governor to give effect to any exchange of Church and School land for Crown land or private land by directing such grants, conveyances, leases, or other assurances to be issued and made in such form and subject to such conditions and reservations as he may think proper or necessary : Provided that, in the case of the exchange of any Church and School land under
lease, and in the case of the exchange of any private land, the
consent of the lessee and owner respectively shall be obtained:

F Provided

Provided also that where the values of the lands exchanged are considered by either party to the exchange to be unequal, the respective values may be determined by the Local Land Board, and the difference between the values so determined shall be paid—

(a)	In the case of the exchange of Church and School lands for Crown land to or by the Colonial Treasurer.
(b)	In the case of the exchange of Church and School lands for private land to or by the private individual: Provided further that the land granted in exchange for private land may be granted on the same terms and conditions to all intents and purposes as are contained in the grants on which such private lands are held, anything in the Crown Lands Act of 1884 to the contrary notwithstanding.

And any moneys paid to or by the Colonial Treasurer shall be carried by him to the credit of or charged against the Consolidated Revenue Fund, as the case may be.

Lands so exchanged for Crown lands shall, upon the completion

of such exchange, become Crown lands for the purposes of the Crown

Lands Acts, but shall not be available for the purposes of any appli­ cation until a notification to that effect has been published in the

Gazette. And such exchanged lands may, by notice in the Gazette, be added to the adjoining lease or license or conditional purchase or

homestead selection (notwithstanding that such lease, license, purchase,

or selection may or may not already contain the maximum area

prescribed by law), subject to such conditions as to payment of purchase money or rental as may be determined by the Governor, and consented to by the lessee, licensee, purchaser, or selector.

14. On and after the day of the commencement of this Act, the

Public Instruction Endowment Account shall be closed, and all moneys

at credit of the said account at the said date shall be applied firstly towards meeting any claims upon the said account, and secondly, towards the erection and maintenance of public school buildings. And the whole

whether accrued due before or after the said day, shall be paid to the	of the moneys to be derived from the Church and School Lands,	Colonial Treasurer, to be by him carried to the credit of the Consolidated
Revenue Fund.

15. The Governor may, with the advice of the Executive Council,

make regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act, and any regulations made as aforesaid shall be published in the Gazette, and shall thereupon, if not repugnant to this Act, have the force of law. All regulations on being gazetted shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within fourteen days thereafter if Parliament

be then sitting, and if not sitting, then within fourteen days after the
next meeting of Parliament.

16. The Church and School Lands Dedication Act, 1880, the Church and School Lands Mining Act, Walsh's Grant Act of 1881, and the Church and School Lands Mining Act, 1889, are hereby repealed: Provided that such repeal shall not—

(a)	affect the previous operation of any enactment so repealed, or anything duly done, suffered, or commenced to be done under the enactment so repealed ; or
(b)	affect any right, privilege, obligation, or liability acquired, accrued, or incurred under any enactment so repealed; or
(c)	affect any investigation, legal proceeding, or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, as aforesaid; or
(d)	affect any order, rule, application, affidavit, or award made, or any summons, writ, or precept issued, or any warrant granted, or any notice or certificate given under the said Acts or any of them before the commencement of this Act.

And any such investigation, legal proceeding, or remedy may be instituted, continued, or enforced as if this repealing enactment had not been passed.

17. In this Act and in any regulations made thereunder, unless the context otherwise require—

"Church and School Lands" mean lands granted to or vested in a corporation styled " The Trustees of the Clergy and School Lands in the Colony of New South Wales," by or in pursuance of Letters Patent, bearing date the ninth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, and unsold on the day on which this Act takes effect.

" Lease for mining purposes " means a lease granted for those purposes under any authority, statutory or otherwise, existing at any time before the day on which this Act takes effect.

"Local Land Board" means the local land board established
under the Crown Lands Act of 1881, and any Acts amending

the same, for the Land District in which any Church and

Act is made, are situate, or, in which the greater part of such	School Lands, in respect of which any application under this
lands are situate.
"Min i s t e r " means the Minister charged with the	administration

of this Act or any part thereof.

"Prescr ibed" means prescribed by this Act or any regulations made thereunder.

18. This Act may be cited as the " Church and School Lands

Act, 1897."

Act