The South Eastern Drainage Scheme Act 1908 (SA)

ANNO OCTAVO

EDWARDI V11 REGIS.

A.D. 1908.

* f * S * f t * * * f f f f f f f f f f f * f f * * f f * f * * f f C f t f * * * * * f * f * * * * * * * f * S

No. 963,

An Act to authorise the carrying out of a Certain Scheme of Drainage in the South-East of the State, and for other purposes.

[Assented to, Decmz ber 2 3 4 1908.1

E it Enacted by the Governor of the State of South Australia,

follows: B with the advice and consent of the Parliament thereof, as

1, This Act may be cited as " The South-Eastern Drainage Short title.

Scheme Act, 1908."

8-963

2, This Act is incorporated with " The South-Eastern Drainage Incorporation.

Act, 1878," The South-Eastern Drainage Act Amendment Act, 1895," and The South-Eastern Drainage Amendment Act, 1900," and any Acts for the time being in force incorporated with, amending, or substituted for any of those Acts.

From the time of the coming into operation of " The South- Interpretation.

Eastern Drainage Act Amendment Act, 1908," the last-mentioned Act shall be deemed to be substituted for "The South-Eastern Drainage Amendment Act, I9 00."

3, In this Act-

'' Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Works for

the time being of the said State, or the Minister of the Crown for the time being discharging the duties of such Commissioner:

Oouncil "

8" EDWARDI VII, No. 963.

The South- Eastern Drainage Scheme Act.--1908.

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" Council" means a District Council whose district or part of whose district is included in the Drainage District:

" Engineer-in-Chief " means the person for the time being hold- ing the office of Engineer-in-Chief' or clisclmrging the duties

of such office:

" Gazette" means The South Aztstrnlinn Governnzent Gctzette :

'' Land " does not include any land situated within the boundary of any Municipal Corporation or town or township:

" Landholder " means the owner of any freehold estate in land, the holder of land under agrcenient with the Crown for the sale of such land upon credit, the lessee of land under lease from the Crown; and as t o unlcnsed Crown lands, the Comniissioner of Crown Lands:

" The District Councils Act " means " 'l'hc District Councils

Act, 1887," and all Acts amending or substituted for that

Act:

;' The drainage district " means and includes the land situated within the area defined ill the plan in the 'l'hird Schedule hereto and enclosed by the green linc shown on such plan.

Scheme may be

carried out subject to 4. Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained as to a poll,

poll.	the Commissioner shall call for teiders for the construction of the drains mentioned in the First Scheclule liereto (in this Act called "the drains") out of loan moneys to be provitlctl 1)y I'arliament for thc purpose, which shall not cxceed in the total tire sum of Three Hundred Thousand Ponncls. Shoul(1 no tcndcr or tenders be accepted, or should a tender or tenders bt. acceptetl and the con- tractor or contractors fail to begin or to complete the work, or any part thereof, in accordance with the contract or contracts, the Com- missioner may, according to the ci~eumstances, construct or complete
works and do all such other things in connection with the drains (in
the drains and construct or cwmplete all such drainage and other
this Act called the drainagc works ") as hc thinks proper. The
drains and the drainage works are in this Act called the scheme."

south-~astem 5. Subject to the provisions of sections 6 to 10 hereof, the pro-

apply to construction, visions of the Acts incorporated herewith shall apply to all mattas

Drainage Acts to

etr. preliminary to, connected with, incidental to, and consequent upon the construction of the scheme, including the apportionment of t h e cost thereof, the payment of the proportions of the cost thereof with interest to the Commissioner, the dates for payment of the first and other instalments of such proportions, the co~&utation of the amounts of such instalments, the charge of such proportions upon the land, the enforcement of such cllarge, the recovcry of instalments by the Commissioner, and the proportions of instalments to be paid by lessees to landholders: Pro\-icled that the express reference to specified matters in this sec.tion shall ilot be held to limit the meaning of this section, or to diminish its effect in any m y.

6. No

8" EDWAKDT VII, No. 963.

The South- Eastern Drainage Scheme Act.-1908. - - - - - - --

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Pr'o requeat of land-

6. No request of landholders shall be necessary before the con- h01 dera necessary.

struction of the scheme or any part thereof.

7. The positions shown in the plan in the Third Schedule hereto Positions of drains in

are approximately the contemplated positions of the drains. In	plan may be altered.
constructing the drains such positions may be altered as found to be necessary or expedient, and such alteration shall not affect the validity of anything done under this Act.

8. A copy of the said plan, or an enlargement thereof, shall be Copy of plan to be

deposited in the otfice of the Surveyor-General in Adelaide before	deposited.
the construction of the scheme is commenced.

9, (1) Upon the completion of the construction of the scheme Engineer-in - Chief's

the Engineer-in-Chief shall furnish the Commissioner with a certi-

certificate.

ficate, stating the date of conlpletion, the cost of the construction of

the scheme, and what lands will be benefited by the scheme.

(2) The Commissioner shall, by notice in the Gazette, publish such certificate; and such notice shall be conclusive as to the date of com- pletion, the cost of the construction of the scheme, and what lands will be benefited by the scheme, not~vithstancling that it differs from any previous estimate of the cost or from anything in or indicated by the said plan.

10. (1) One half of the cost of construction of the scheme shall One half of the cost

be deemed to be an advance from the Commissiuner to all the land-	by hd-
holders of the lands which will be benefited by the ~cheme; and such advance shall be repaid to the Commissioner by such land- holders, with interest thereon at the rate of Four Pounds per centum
per annorn, in the proportions to be ascertained and npp&ioned in
manner provided by " The South-Eastern Drainage Amendment Act, 1900," and any Act for the time being in force amending or substituted for that ilct: Provided that the apportionment shall be of one half and not the whole of the cost of construction.

(2) A notice of such apportionment published in the Gazette, pursuant to " The South-Eastern Drainage Amendment Act, 1900," and any Act for the time being in force amending or substituted for that Act, shall be conclusive evidence of the amount of the pro- portion to be paid to the Commissioner by each landholder men- tioned in such notice, the amount of the yearly instalments to be paid to the Commissioner, the date upon which the first instillment will be due, and the validity of all matters stated in such notice.

11, When the construction of the drains and the drainage works scl,eme to be under

is completed the same shall be and continue under the care, control, ~ h ' o ~ ~; . O f

and management of the drainage authorities or authority having the

care, control, and management of other drains and drainage works

in the districts within which the said drains and drainage works

respectively are situated; and such authorities or authority shall

have, exercise, perform, and enjoy the same rights, powers, func-

tions, obligations, duties, and immunities in respect thereof as in

respect

8" EDWARDI VII, No. 963. - --

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The South-Eastern Drainage Scheme Act.-1908.

respect of other drains and drainage works situated within their respective districts or its district, including (but without limiting the effect of this section) powers to make assessments for rates and to levy and recover rates, and the duty to cleanse, repair, arid main tain the drains :ind drainage works.

Othar drains not	12, Nothing in this Act contained shall affect any drain or drainage works constructed before tl;c passing of this Act, in course of construction a t the time of the passing of this Act, or (except the scheme) hereafter to be constructed within the drainage district, or any matter or thing preliminary to, connected with, incl- dental to, or consequent upon the construction of such drain 01. drainage works
affected by this Act.
whether the scheme

Poll to he taken 13, On a date to be fixed by the Governor by Proclamation

to be camed out.

published in the Gazette the question whether the scheme shall be

Cf. Gawler to

carried out in pursuance of this Act shall bc submitted by each

Angaaton Railway

Council to a poll of the landholdcrs of land (other than unleased

Act 942, 1907, 8. 10.

Crown lands) which is included in the clrainage district, and is

situated in the district of such Council.

Provision for poll. 14, Every poll of landholders under this Act shall be taken by

Cf. ibid., 8. l I. ballot-

I. The Council shall appoint a Returning Officer, who shall, mutatis mutandis, have all t l ~ e powers conferred by the District Councils Act, or '' The Ballot Act of 1862," on a Returning Officer in case of an election, including the power to appoint deputies, and shall preside a t the taking of the poll:

11. The Council shall appoint a polli~lg-place for such poll, and

where the district is divided into wards shall appoint a polling-place in each ward. The taking of the p011 shall commence a t eight o'clock in the forenoon, and shall con-

tinue open until all the voters presrnt in the polling-booth	a t seven o'clock in the afternoon shall have had an oppor-
tunity of voting, and shall then close:

111. Two scrutineers, to be present a t the voting a t each polling- place, shall be appointed by the Council:

iv. A t every poll the Returning Officer, if i t appears to him

expedient, may cause booths to be crcctccl, or rooms to be hired and used as booths, a t the several polling-places of the district; and the same shall be so divided and allotted into compartments as to the Beturning Officer seems most convenient, ant1 the R e t ~ r n i r ~ g Oficcr shall, before the day fixed for taking the votes, cause to be furnislied for use a t each polling-place a list of the landholders entitled to vote a t such polling-place, which shall show how many votes each lantlholder is entitled to according to the scale in the next succeeding subsection, and the land in respect of which each landholder is qualified to vote, and the Returning Officer shall, under his hand, certify such list to be correct: v. Each

8" EDWARDI VII, No. 963. 6

The South-Eastern Drainage Scheme Act.-1908.

v. Each landholder entitled to vote may vote on a scale according Landholders to vote according to scale.

to the amount of value at which he is assessed in the

assessment-book of the Council, as follows:-Twenty-

five Pounds or under, one vote; over 'Twenty-five Pounds

to Thirty-five Pounds, two votes; over Thirty-five Pounds

to Forty-five Pounds, three votes; over Forty-five Pounds

to Fifty-five Pounds, four votes; over Fifty-five Pounds

to Sixty-five Pounds, five votes; over Sixty-five I'ounds,

six votes. No person shall have more than six votes:

vr. I n case of joint tenancy or tenancy in common, one person only shall vote unless the assessed value of the property exceeds Seventy-five Pounds, and then one other joint tenant, or tenant in common, may vote for each additional Seventy-five Pounds, or for any fractional part of Seventy- five Pounds, of assessed value, on the same scale as is allowed for the first Seventy-five Pounds, or the fractional part thereof, and joint tenants, or tenants in common entitled, may vote in the order in which they tender their votes, until votes have been taken for the whole assessed value, or a11 the joint tenants, or tenants in common, have voted:

vrr. Except as by this Act otherwise provided, no person shall have more than one vote:

V I I I. Every person entitled to vote shall present himself to the

Returning OEcer, or his Deputy, a t the polling-place for the district or for the ward in resrxct of which such person claims to vote, and state his ~h r i s t i an and surname, abode, profession, or occupation, the nature of his qualification, and the place where the property or qualifi- cation is situate. The Returning Officer, or Deputy, shall thereupon place a mark against the voter's name on the lidt of landholders in use at the polling-place, and hand such voter a voting-payer for every vote to which he is entitled,

which voting-paper shall bear the initials of the Returning Officer, or Deputy, and the following sentences :-

'' I approve of the drainage scheme being carried out

in pursuance of "l'he South-Eastern Drainage

Scheme Act, 1908 ':

" I object to the drainage scheme being carried out

in pursuance of ' 'l'he South-Eastern Drainage

Scheme Act, 1908 ' ":

And shall have a square printed opposite each such sen- tence, and nothing else shall be inserted in, or placed on, such voting-paper:

1s. There shall be provided one or more separate apartments or placc S forming part of the polling-booth, in to which the voter shall, on receiving his voting paper or papers, im- mediately retire, and there alone and in private, without interruption, indicate his vote or votes by making a cross

within

8" EDWARDI VII, No. 963.

The South- Eastern Drainage Scheme Act.-1908.

within one of the squares on his voting-paper, or on each of his voting-papers, as the case may be, opposite the sentence which expresses his wish, and shall the fold the paper or papers and immediately deliver it or them so folded to the Returning Officer, or his Deputy, who shall forthwith publicly, and without opening the same, deposit i t or them in a box to be provided for that purpose; and no voting-paper so deposited in any box shall on any account be taken therefrom unless in the presence of the scrutineers after the close of the. poll. Noc voting-paper shall be received unless it is s g folded as to render it impossible for the Returning Officer, his I)eputy, or any other person to see which way the vote is given:

X. Any voter wilfully infringing any of the provisions of this section, or obstructing the voting by any unnecessary delay in performing any act within the said polling-booth or room, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor:

xi. Any voter may signify to the Returning Officer, or his Deputy, that, by reason of blindness or defective eye- sight, he is unable to vote without assistance, and there- upon such officer or deputy, if satisfied of such inability, shall permit any agent named by such voter to accdmpany him into the apartment or place for voting to inark the voting-paper on such voter's behalf, and shall receive such paper from such agent and deposit it in the ballot-box:

xrr. The only persons who shall be allowed to remain in the polling-booth or room shall be the persons about to vote, the lleturning Officer, the Deputy 1Eeturning Officer, and the scrutineers:

srir. No inquiry shall be permitted at any poll as to the right of any person to vote, except as follo~vs, that is to say :-The

Returning Officer, or his Deputy, may, or if required by

voting paper at the time of his so applying, but not any mutineer shall, put to any person applying for a	afterwards, the following questions, or any of them, and
no other:--

(1) Are you the person whose name appears as

and as the owner (or holder o r lessee) of the property set opposite your name in the list of landholders for this district ?

(2) Havc you already voted at the present poll?

(3) Are you the landholder within the meaning ot

'' The South-Eastern Ihainage Scheme Act,

1908," of the property in respect of which yon

now claim to vote ?

Provided that the Heturning-Officer or Deputy may by reference to the list of landholders or otherwise give any

information

8" EDWARDI VII, No. 963. .- -

The South- Eastern Drainage Scheme Act.-1908.

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information necessary to explain the question or questions so put. No person shall be entitled to vote unless his answer to the first and third questions, or such of them as is put to him, is ill the affirmative, and to the second, if put, i r ~ the negative; and anv person who wilfully makes a falsc answer to either of sub11 questions shall be guilty of a misdemeano~.

s~v. Every llerson who votes a second timc, or offers to vote a seconcl time, at any poll, or who personates any other per- so11 for the qurpose of voting at any such poll, shall be guilty of a mlsdemeanor.

xv. Immediately before taking tlie votes the Returning Officer, or l)elmty Returning Officer, shall exhibit the ballot-box empty; and shall, immediately upon the close of the \-oting, publicly close and sedl the box containing the voting-papers which h a ~ e been taken at the voting-place at which he presided, and each Deputy Keturning Officer shall, with as little delay as lmssible, deliver, or cause his box to be delivered, to the Returning Officer; and any Returning Officer, or Deputy lteturning Officer, who un- lawfully tampers with any ballot-box or voting-paper shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

xvr. At the close of the poll the Returning Officer shall fix a time, as soon as conveniently may be, for examining the votes and declaring the result of the poll, and shall, in the presence of one at least of the scrntineers, and of as many more as choose to be present, open all the boxes containing voting-papers delivered at the taking of the poll. and shall cxamine such voting-papers, and shall reject all such as contain crosscs against both of the above-mentioned scntci~ces, or contain anything other than such matters as are hereinbeforc prescribed for such voting-papers: And shall openly declare the general state of the votes at

from the voting-papers taken at thc several voting-places: tlie close of the poll, as the same are made up by him And shall declarc the 1.csult of the poll:

X v I I. All ~oting-papers shall bc preserved by the Retlxrning Officer

until three months after the declaration of the result of the

poll.

Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under this section shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months.

15, The result of each poll shall be embodied in a certificate certificate ofreru~t

under the hand of the Returning; Officer in the form of the Second of poll.

Schedule to this Act, or in a foi& to the like effect. The certifi- Cf. ibid., 0.12.

cates shall be published in the Gazette, which shall, after the expiration of three months from the declaration of the result, be conclusive evidence of such result, and of the validity of the poll, and the performance of all conditions precedent thereto.

16. If

8 8" EDWARDI VII, No. 963.

The South- Eastern Drainage Scheme Act.-1908.

Order for carrying

out echeme in 16. If the aggregate result of such polls is that two-thirds or

~ ~ ~ ~ more of the votes of all the landholders voting. approve of the ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ f ~ h i ~ ~ ~ ~ ,

cf. ibid., sec. 1 4.	scheme being carried out in pursuance of
may make an order that the scheme shall he carried out in pur-

this A&,- the G overnor

suance of this Act, and the order shall be pul~lished in the Gazrttr. The scheme shall not be carried out unless and until such order is so published.

In the name and on behalf of His Majesty, I hereby assent to

this Bill.

GEORGE R. LE HUNTE, Governor.

8" EDWARDI VII, No. 963.

The South-Eastern Drainage Scheme Ad.-1908.

THE SCHEDULES.

THE FIRST SCHEDULE.

1. Extension of Baker's Range Drain to Dismal Swamp.

2. Drain commencing at a point in the hundred of Penola, and running in a north- westerly direction to Baker's Range Drain, in or near Block 7, hundred of Joyce.

3. Drain from Lake Omerod, through the hundreds of Naracoorte and Spence, to Baker's Range Drain, in or near Block 4, hundred of Joyce.

4. Drain commencing at a point in the hundred of Joyce, and running in a north- westerly direction to near the western boundary of the hundred of Minecrow, thence westerly to the sea at a point about five miles north of Kingeton, with a branch commencing near the said western boundary of the hundred of Minecrow, and running in a north-easterly direction.

5, Drain commencing at a point in the hundred of Fox, and running in a westerly

direction to the sea at or near Boatswain's Point.

6. 1)rain conlmencing at Reedy Creek Drain, near Furner, and running in a westerly direction to Lake Cieorge, with an outlet from that lake to the sea, near Beachport.

NOTE.-The positions of the proposed drains, as above indicated, are appioxi- mately the contemplated positions of	such drains, and may be altered a8 found to be
necessary or expedient.

THE SECOND SCHEDULE.

.ame of Returning Oj icer ], certify that a poll taken on the da

, in the District of [name */District Council ~ i s t r i c z

, 19

on the question whether the above-mentioned scheme should be carried out in pur- suance of " The South-Eastern Dsainage Scheme Act, 1908," resultec! as follows :-

Number of votes in approval of the scheme being so carried out

Number of votes in objection thereto ......................

Number of informal votes ..............................

Total number of votes .......................

-

Dated this day of , 19.

[Sz$naturej Returning Officer.

THE THIRD SCHEDULE.

PLAN.

Adelaide: By authority, C. E. Banmow, Government Printer, North Tenwe.

B-963