Whereas Mina Tait Horton, late of Auckland, spinster, died on 3 May 1935 having made her last will and testament dated 23 December 1932, which said will was duly proved in the Supreme Court of New Zealand at Auckland on 17 May 1935:

And whereas by her said will the said Mina Tait Horton, after providing for certain legacies and bequests, devised and bequeathed to Henry Horton and the New Zealand Insurance Company, Limited, as trustees, the residue of her estate upon, inter alia, the following trusts:

• (a) to divide the said residue into 4 equal shares and to set aside one of such shares and to pay the income arising therefrom to one Robert Chisholm Horton during his lifetime:

• (b) as to the remaining 3 of such equal shares, to stand possessed thereof and of any accumulated income therefrom upon trust for the building fund for the cathedral of the Auckland Diocese of the Church of the Province of New Zealand (commonly called the Church of England) to be paid to the General Trust Board of the said diocese or other the appropriate body controlling such building fund:

And whereas the said will further provides, inter alia, that the design for such building should be competitive, and that if such design should not be accepted by the General Trust Board within 7 years from the date of the death of the said Mina Tait Horton, and if such building should not be commenced within 10 years of her death, or if the said trustees should not be satisfied at the end of the said 10 years that such building will be properly carried on to a completed state, then that the said devise and bequest for the said building fund should lapse and that the said 3 shares and accumulated income should then be held by the trustees upon the trusts following:

• (i) a sum not exceeding 1,000 pounds to be applied to the purchase of an oil painting to be presented to the City of Auckland:

• (ii) to the Trust Board of Saint Mary's Homes, the Diocesan Pension Board for the Number Three Fund (Clergy, Widows, and Orphans Fund), the Trust Board of the Orphan Home at Papatoetoe, and the Vestry of St Aidan's Church, Remuera, the sum of 1,000 pounds each:

• (iii) all the rest, residue, and remainder of the said 3 shares and accumulations therein for the Auckland University College Council, the Trust Board of the Diocesan High School for Girls at Auckland, and to the board of governors for the time being of King's College at Auckland in equal shares, the sums so received by such bodies under this bequest to be in each case employed to establish a scholarship or scholarships to be called the Mina Tait Horton Scholarships:

And whereas the testatrix by her said will provided that the one-fourth share which she had directed should be set aside and the income therefrom paid to the said Robert Chisholm Horton during his lifetime should, from and after his death, follow the destination of the other 3 shares of her residuary estate in accordance with the provisions set forth in the will regarding such 3 shares:

And whereas the said Robert Chisholm Horton did on 2 March 1942 assign and surrender such life interest to the said trustees:

And whereas the said General Trust Board of the Diocese of Auckland has within 7 years of the death of the said Mina Tait Horton accepted a competitive design for such cathedral:

And whereas, in order that the said devise and bequest directed by the testatrix to be paid to the said General Trust Board of the Diocese of Auckland shall not lapse in accordance with the conditions of the will, the said cathedral building must be commenced within 10 years from 3 May 1935, being the date of the death of the testatrix, and the trustees of the will must be satisfied within such 10 years that the said building will be properly carried on to a completed state:

And whereas the cost of completing the cathedral according to the design placed first was on the basis of charges for labour and material in New Zealand in December 1938 estimated at 250,000 pounds, and the cost of building a first portion of the design such as could be used for the time being as a cathedral was estimated at 90,000 pounds:

And whereas the estimated value of the said bequest for such Cathedral Building Fund, inclusive of the one-fourth share which was subject to a life interest as aforesaid, was as at the date of death of the testatrix less than 68,000 pounds:

And whereas the conditions resulting from the existence of a state of war since 3 September 1939 have greatly increased the cost of building and have made it impracticable for the said General Trust Board to proceed either with the collection of subscriptions towards the Cathedral Building Fund or with the building of the said cathedral:

And whereas similar conditions are likely to exist during the continuance of a state of war and for a considerable time after such state of war has ceased to exist:

And whereas it is desired by the said General Trust Board to obtain a variation of the trusts created by the said will to provide that the bequest for such Cathedral Building Fund shall lapse if, but only if, the said cathedral building is not commenced within 7 years from 28 April 1952 or if the trustees are not satisfied at the end of that period that the building will be properly carried on to a completed state and such variation is not attainable otherwise than by legislation.

Preamble: amended, on 28 August 1957, by section 2 of the Mina Tait Horton Estate Amendment Act 1957 (1957 No 4 (P)).