This Act may be cited as the Methodist Charitable and Educational Trusts Act 1911.

In the construction of this Act, unless the context shall otherwise require,—

The present trustees of the said lands, and all new members appointed to the Board, whether by way of succession or addition, shall be and they are hereby constituted a body corporate under the name of the “Board of the Wesley Training College”, having a perpetual succession and a common seal, and capable in law, for the purposes of the trusts to be administered by them and of this Act, of doing and suffering all such things as corporate bodies may do and suffer, and with power to take and hold lands subject to this Act.

The present trustees hereby constituted members of the Board are the persons following, that is to say: Frederick Lambert Prime, of Auckland, agent; John Edson, of Auckland, chemist; Thomas Buddle, of Auckland, solicitor; Thomas Allen, of Auckland, gentleman; Thomas McMaster, of Auckland, draper; George Winstone, of Auckland, coal merchant; Stephen James Ambury, of Auckland, dairyman; Andrew Clarke Caughey, of Auckland, draper; Francis Angus White, of Auckland, mining agent; Frederick Walter Wilson, of Auckland, journalist; James Henry Gunson, of Auckland, grain merchant; Joseph Henry Simmonds, of Auckland, Methodist minister; George Alfred Buttle, of Auckland, broker; James Edward Wheeler, of Auckland, merchant; Archibald Peak, of Auckland, solicitor; John Veale, of Auckland, settler; William Gittos, of Devonport, Methodist minister.

The Conference may annually appoint some person, whether a member of the Board or not, as Chairman of the Board, who if not already a member shall be ex officio a member of the Board. Anyone so appointed shall be eligible for reappointment, but if not otherwise a member of the Board shall cease to be a member upon ceasing to be Chairman. In the event of the Conference not appointing a Chairman, the Board shall appoint one from their number, and, with the consent of the Conference, may continue to make such appointment annually.

The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Board at which he or she is present. If and while by reason of death or otherwise there is no Chairman, the members of the Board may appoint one of their number to be Acting Chairman, who shall preside at all meetings at which he or she is present, and shall have the same powers as if he or she were Chairman of the Board. If at any such meeting such Chairman or Acting Chairman is not present at the time appointed for holding the same, the members present may choose one of their number to be the Chairman of such meeting, and the member so chosen shall have the same powers at that meeting as if he or she were Chairman of the Board.

The Board may from time to time consist of any number of members from 10 to 20, including the Chairman.

All members of the Board hereafter appointed, whether by way of succession or addition, shall be appointed by resolution of the Conference. Upon the appointment of any new member or members the President of the Conference shall make a declaration in or to the effect of the form set forth in Schedule 4, countersigned by the secretary of the Conference, stating the name or names of the person or persons so appointed, and every such declaration shall be exempt from stamp duty, and without payment of any fee shall be filed of record in the office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court at Auckland within 60 days after such declaration shall have been made, and when so filed shall be conclusive evidence of the matters and things therein stated without proof of any signature thereto.

A copy of any such declaration certified under the hand and seal of the Registrar of the Supreme Court at Auckland shall be evidence in all Courts or for the purpose of evidencing title to any property, and for all other purposes, of the matters and things stated therein, without any proof of the seal or signature of such Registrar.

The Board shall have an office at such place as they shall from time to time fix, and any notice to or legal process against the Board shall be deemed to be duly served if left at such office. Notice of the situation of such office and of any change of its situation shall be published in the Gazette.

The members of the Board may meet together for the despatch of business, adjourn, or otherwise regulate their meetings and proceedings as they may think fit. The quorum of a meeting shall be 7.

The office of a member of the Board shall become and be vacant in each or any of the following cases in addition to death, that is to say:

and if in each or any such case a resolution is passed by the Board at a meeting thereof declaring the office of such member vacant.

Every vacancy occurring in the membership of the Board shall be forthwith reported to the secretary of the Conference, and shall be filled by the Conference at its first session thereafter.

Questions arising at any meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of votes, and in case of equality of votes the Chairman presiding shall have a second or casting vote.

A meeting of the members of the Board for the time being, at which a quorum is present, shall be competent to exercise all or any of the powers, authorities, and discretions for the time being vested in the Board.

The Chairman or Acting Chairman may at any time, and the secretary shall upon the request in writing of any 3 members, summon a meeting of the Board. Five clear days’ notice of every meeting shall be sent by post to each member who is for the time being in New Zealand. The day of posting the notice shall not be reckoned in the 5 days.

The members of the Board may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such member or members of their body as they shall think fit. Any committee so appointed shall in the exercise of its powers conform to any directions from time to time given by the Board.

The Board may also delegate and agree to delegate all or any of its powers, duties, and responsibilities in accordance with the provisions of any integration agreement that may be entered into by the Board.

The Board shall have power from time to time to make bylaws for the governance of committees, or with respect to the management and staff of the said institution, or any other matter under the control of the Board.

The Board shall keep, or cause to be kept, exact minutes of all their proceedings, and also full and accurate accounts of all their receipts, disbursements, liabilities, and engagements, and shall within 3 months after 31 January in every year cause the said accounts, made up to 31 January, to be audited by 1 or more competent auditors. A statement of such accounts signed by the auditor or auditors, together with a report of the year’s working, in respect both to the Trust Estate and the said institution, shall be produced at a meeting of the Board to be held within 3 months after 31 January in each year. Such statement and report, if and when adopted at such meeting, shall be signed by the Chairman, and a copy of each certified by the Chairman shall be forwarded to the secretary of the Conference to be laid before the Conference at its then next session.

The common seal of the Board shall be in the custody of the Board’s secretary, and all deeds and instruments executed under the common seal of the Board shall be executed at a meeting of the Board, and be authenticated by the signatures of the Chairman and 2 of the members.

All the said lands described in the first 3 Schedules are hereby vested in and shall be held by the Board, and shall continue to be used and administered by the Board under the general control and superintendence of the Conference, upon the trusts and for the purposes expressed in the Crown grants mentioned in the first 3 Schedules as modified and supplemented by this Act.

In order to render the lands described in the first 3 Schedules, and any other lands the Board may hereafter acquire, productive of revenue in aid of the said institution, the Board shall have and may exercise in regard thereto all such powers of leasing as are set forth in the Public Bodies Leases Act 1908; and for that purpose the Board shall be deemed a leasing authority duly constituted under that Act.

For the more beneficial exercise of the powers hereby conferred, the Board shall have power from time to time to subdivide all or any of the lands vested in them into portions or allotments, and lay off and dedicate roads and streets thereon, and make and carry out arrangements with local authorities with regard to the construction of and other matters connected with such roads and streets.

The revenues derived or to be derived from the said lands shall be applied in aid of the said institution, and otherwise in the administration of the trusts and purposes aforesaid as modified and supplemented by this Act, and upon or for no other trust or purpose.

Subject to the approval of the Conference, the Board shall have power at any time hereafter, when in the opinion of the Conference sufficient funds have been raised and are available for the purpose, to acquire by purchase or otherwise an area of land in the Provincial District of Auckland as a site for the said institution and the agricultural and other operations carried on in connection therewith, and to transfer the said institution to the site so acquired and carry on the same there, and to erect all necessary buildings on such site and equip the same, and to fence, drain, and otherwise improve the said site for the purposes of the said institution and its operations, and to carry out all such other works in connection therewith as shall be requisite or desirable.

The site so acquired shall be vested in the Board, and the same, together with the buildings and equipment thereof and the improvements upon and appurtenances to the said site, shall be held, used, and administered by the Board, subject to the control and superintendence of the Conference, upon the trusts and for the purposes expressed in the said Crown grants as modified and supplemented by this Act.

If at any time it shall appear that the interests of the said institution would be promoted by the acquisition of land under lease, with or without the right of purchasing the reversionary freehold, the Board shall, with the prior sanction of a resolution passed by the Conference, have power to so acquire land, upon and subject to such covenants and conditions as shall be thought fit, and to provide for and pay the rent and carry out all the other obligations of the lease:

provided that the land so acquired shall be used in aid and for the purposes of the said institution and for no other purpose.

Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, the Board, with the prior sanction of a resolution passed by the Conference, may sell, in such manner and on such terms as it thinks fit, any part or parts of any land held by it under any trust imposed on it by this or any other enactment or any instrument.

Where any land is sold pursuant to subsection (1), the net proceeds of the sale shall be—

provided that all land so purchased and any such investments shall be held by the Board on the same trusts that affected the land sold.

Nothing in this section shall authorise the sale of any land held by the Board in trust for any particular purpose, if the sale of the land is prohibited by the instrument creating the trust.

The Board shall have power to enter into an integration agreement in respect of such part or parts of the institution and upon such terms as it thinks fit and shall also have power to enter into supplementary agreements varying the terms of that integration agreement.

The Board shall be competent to take and receive in its corporate name, either by way of gift inter vivos, or by way of devise or bequest, any land, money, or other property, either generally for the purposes of the said institution, or for any specific purpose connected therewith; and shall be competent and entitled to hold and administer such land, money, or other property upon the trusts and for the purposes upon and for which the same was given, devised, or bequeathed, and upon and for no other trust or purpose. But the Conference may at any time by resolution require that such land, money, or other property, so far as the same is undisposed of, shall be vested in trustees appointed by the Conference, to be nevertheless held by such trustees upon and for the same trusts and purposes. And the Board shall, upon such requisition, convey, transfer, and make over such land, money, or other property, so far as the same is undisposed of, accordingly.

The Board may invest any money held by the Board for and on behalf of the institution in accordance with the Trusts Act 2019.

The Board shall have power to exercise all of the options and other rights to which the Board may become entitled as the holder of any ordinary or preference shares, stock, debentures, or notes, and to sell, exchange, vary, or transpose any investments, from time to time held by the Board.

Nothing contained or implied in this section shall authorise the investment of any part of the said money in the shares or other financial products of any company whose business and objects, in the judgment of the Board, conflict with the general rules and usage of the Methodist Church of New Zealand and which are likely to bring reproach upon the Church.

In this section, financial products has the same meaning as in section 6(1) of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.

The income from investments authorised under section 30 shall be available and be used in aid of the said institution and otherwise in the administration of the trusts and purposes aforesaid, but upon or for no other trust or purpose.

The Trusts and purposes upon and for which the said land described in the first 3 schedules are and shall be held, and upon and for which the said new site when acquired and any other lands and assets now, previously or hereafter acquired by the Board for the purposes of this Act and so as to be subject thereto shall be held, are and shall be the support and upkeep of the institution as a multiracial boarding school or as a multiracial combined day and boarding school catering especially for the maintenance and education of as many Maori pupils and of as many disadvantaged pupils (whether orphan, needy, or otherwise disadvantaged and whether male or female) as the Board shall consider proper and expedient:

provided that selection of applicants for admission either as a pupil of the institution or as a boarder at any hostel provided at the institution, and the term during which they may enjoy the benefits thereof, shall be at the discretion of the Board.

Moderate and reasonable fees may be charged and taken in cases where there is ability on the part of parents or guardians to pay the same, and the amount of such fees shall be determined in each case by the Board.

The trusts and purposes severally expressed in the said Crown grants are hereby modified and assimilated accordingly:

provided always that if the Board shall have entered into an integration agreement the eligibility of pupils for enrolment at the school forming part of the institution and the right of the Board to charge dues for attendance at the school shall be determined in accordance with that integration agreement.

The Registrar of Deeds or the District Land Registrar as the case may be shall do all such things as are necessary to give effect to this section.

The course of instruction provided at the institution shall be in accordance with any national curriculum statements issued under section 90 of the Education and Training Act 2020:

provided that the general school programme of the institution shall reflect the special character of the institution as it may be established from time to time.

If the Board enters into an integration agreement the special character shall be that described in that integration agreement.

As part of such special character the Board shall ensure that religious observances and religious instruction are provided at the institution in such form and in such manner as shall be approved and directed by the Conference.

The Conference may from time to time appoint a Principal or Director of the said institution, or may delegate the power to make such appointment to the Board. Any vacancy occurring in that office may be temporarily filled by the Board pending a permanent appointment by the Conference or by the Board. All other masters, instructors, overseers, and employees generally shall be appointed by the Board, who shall also in respect to the said institution make all necessary arrangements for keeping records and accounts, and for audit, inspection, public functions, and reports to the Conference.

provided that from and after the date of any integration agreement entered into by the Board the principal or director and all other staff of the school forming part of the institution shall be appointed in the manner prescribed by that integration agreement or by the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975 should that manner of appointment be different or in conflict with the foregoing provisions of this section, but in the absence of any such difference or conflict then in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section.

The President of the Conference for the time being, or his or her duly appointed deputy, shall be the Visitor of the said institution, and shall have full power and authority to do all those things that pertain to Visitors as often as to him or her shall seem meet.