The Short Title of this Act is “The Auckland Harbour Board Empowering Act, 1899.”

In this Act “the Board” means the Auckland Harbour Board.

It shall be lawful for the Board to borrow, by debentures in the form in the First Schedule hereto, for such period and upon such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, a sum or sums not exceeding in all seventy-five thousand pounds. But no debentures under this Act shall be sold at a price that will produce a greater interest than four pounds per centum per annum.

The said sum of seventy-five thousand pounds, or so much thereof as shall be borrowed, shall be expended in the equipment of the said Calliope Dock, and the furnishing of the same with plant, machinery, and appliances, and the construction of storehouses, workshops, and other buildings upon land adjacent to the said dock, and for such other purposes in connection with the equipment of the said dock as the Board shall determine.

The provisions of “The Harbours Act, 1878,” and the amendments thereof, for the repayment of loans and other remedies of debenture-holders, and such further provisions of that Act as shall be applicable for the protection of lenders of money to a Harbour Board, shall be and be deemed to be incorporated herein.

It shall be lawful for the trustees of any savings - bank established under “The Savings-bank Act, 1858,” to lend the said sum of seventy-five thousand pounds, or any part thereof, to the Board upon such debentures as aforesaid.

It shall be lawful for the Board, and it is hereby authorised and empowered, to enter into contracts for the surrender to the Board of rights of water-frontage appurtenant to lands bounded by high-water mark within the Harbour of Auckland, and for the purposes aforesaid the Board by any such contract may—

Agree with any owner for the payment of and pay such sum of money as may be agreed on between the Board and such owner:

Agree with any such owner as to the position of any boundary-line:

Transfer to any such owner, as the consideration for such surrender, and for the purpose of straightening boundaries, any land the property of the Board:

Exchange with any such owner land on either side of any boundary-line.

In case the Board shall reclaim from the sea any land vested in the Board lying below high-water mark, and the Board and the owner of the adjoining land shall not have entered into any agreement under the foregoing clause, the owner of such adjoining land shall be entitled, within the time and in the manner provided by “The Public Works Act, 1894,” and its amendments, to claim and obtain compensation for any injury he may sustain by the deprivation of water-frontage, the amount of such compensation to be ascertained in the manner provided by the said last-mentioned Act in the case of lands injuriously affected by any public work.

For the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of section seven hereof the Board may make, enter into, do, and execute all such manner of agreements, contracts, conveyances, and assurances as may be necessary.

It shall be lawful for the Board to contract with the Corporation of the Mayor, Councillors, and Citizens of the City of Auckland (hereinafter termed “the Corporation”) for the acquisition from the Corporation of the undivided interest of the Corporation in Allotment Two of Section Eight of the City of Auckland for the purpose of providing a site for an Admiralty House and grounds in the City of Auckland, and the Corporation is hereby authorised to enter into such contract, and to make and execute all transfers or other assurances of such property or interest therein necessary to vest the same in the Board for the purposes aforesaid.

It shall be lawful for the Board to establish, erect, equip, and maintain within the Harbour of Auckland a depot for the storage of coal for the use of Her Majesty’s navy, and for these purposes the Board may, in addition to the foregoing powers,—

Acquire a site or sites for such depot:

Purchase from time to time such supplies of coal as it may consider advisable, and may from time to time dispose of the same to the warships of Her Majesty’s navy:

May, in order to keep a fresh supply of coal in stock, from time to time sell such coal or any part thereof publicly or privately to any person, provided that no greater amount shall be sold than may be necessary to keep up a fresh and available supply of coal.

The Board may purchase fresh water, and supply the same within the limits of the Harbour of Auckland as defined by “The Harbours Act, 1878,” and its amendments, to the wharves, docks, and landing-places abutting thereon, and to shipping within the said harbour and docks, at such prices and upon such terms as it may think fit.

All that piece of land described in the Second Schedule hereto shall be vested in the Board, to be held by it for an estate in fee-simple, and the District Land Registrar for the Auckland Land Registration District shall cause a certificate of title therefor to issue to the Board.

It shall be lawful for the School Commissioners for the Auckland Provincial District to accept a surrender of any existing lease of the land described in the Third Schedule hereto upon such terms as the said School Commissioners shall think fit, and to convey to the Board upon such terms as they shall think fit the said land in fee-simple for the purposes of Admiralty House, and the Board is hereby empowered to acquire the said land from the said School Commissioners either by purchase or by exchanging therefor any other land of equivalent value the property of the Board, and for the above purposes the said School Commissioners and the Board may execute all such conveyances, transfers, and assurances, and pay all such moneys, as may be necessary.

All moneys received by the School Commissioners in respect of the purchase of the land by the Board, and all land vested in them by way of exchange from the Board, shall be held by them upon the same trusts as affected the first-mentioned land immediately prior to its being so purchased or exchanged; and for the purpose of giving effect to the trusts the School Commissioners shall, when necessary, apply the moneys in the purchase of other land.