The Short Title of this Act is “The Reserves Disposal and Exchange Act, 1895.”

The several reserves enumerated in the First Schedule hereto are forest reserves under “The New Zealand State Forests Act, 1885,” and are hereby vested in the Auckland City Council as reserves for purposes of recreation and for the conservation of the Native fauna and flora, and shall be held by the said Council as public domains, under “The Public Domains Act, 1881,” with all the powers which under that Act may be delegated by the Governor to a local authority.

The Governor may grant Teases of any land not covered by forest-trees under section five of the last-mentioned Act, and subject to the provisions thereof; saving that, and notwithstanding anything contained in section seven of the last-mentioned Act, the proceeds of any such lease may be applied in managing, administering, and improving either the lands in respect of which such proceeds are received, or any other lands enumerated in the First Schedule hereto and vested in the Auckland City Council under this Act.

The closing of the road-line adjoining the Waipa River, described in the Second Schedule hereto, by the Ngaruawahia Town Board, and the sale of the land by the said Town Board to Messieurs Reynolds and Company, is hereby validated, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in “The Public Works Act, 1894,” preventing the stopping of a road along the hank of a river.

The lands described in the Third Schedule hereto are hereby reserved and set apart as an endowment for the Whangarei Harbour, and the Governor may grant the said lands to the Whangarei Harbour Board to be held by them in trust as an endowment for the said harbour.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in “The West Coast Settlement Reserves Act, 1892,” the Governor and the Public Trustee are hereby empowered to exchange an area of about four thousand two hundred acres, being portions of the Native reserves known as Sections One hundred and sixty-nine and One hundred and seventy of the Oakura District, Taranaki Land District, for Crown lands which may be deemed to be of equal value.

The valuation of the lands shall be determined by arbitration in the manner provided by section seventy-nine of “The Land Act, 1892,” one arbitrator being appointed by the Governor and the other by the Public Trustee.

The land obtained by the Governor shall be held as a reserve for the preservation of the Native fauna and flora. The land obtained by the Public Trustee shall be held upon the same trusts and conditions as were the lands given by him in exchange.

Whereas certain portions of the Botanical Garden Reserve, Napier, have been used as forming part of the Napier Cemetery, and a portion of the Cemetery Reserve has been used as forming part of the Botanical Garden Reserve, and it is expedient to adjust the boundaries of the said reserves, and change the purposes of the aforesaid portions thereof: Now, therefore, the purpose of the two parcels of land firstly and secondly hereunder described is hereby changed from a Botanical Garden Reserve to a Cemetery Reserve, and the purpose of the land thirdly hereunder described is hereby changed from a Cemetery Reserve to a Botanical Garden Reserve: —

All that parcel of land in the Hawke’s Bay Land District, containing by admeasurement one acre two roods eighteen perches, more or less, being part of Botanical Garden Reserve in the Town of Napier, and bounded as follows: The east, north, and again towards the east respectively by Cemetery Reserve and Chaucer Road, four hundred and eighty-five links and two-tenths of a link, four hundred and sixty-five links, and two hundred and fifty-two links; towards the south by Botanical Garden Reserve, one hundred and forty-six links and nine-tenths of a link, and three hundred and fifty-three links and eight-tenths of a link; towards the west by Botanical Garden Reserve, eighty-seven links and six-tenths of a link, seventy-five links and nine-tenths of a link, thirty-eight links and six-tenths of a link, twenty-five links, fifty links and one-tenth of a link, one hundred and twenty-five links and one-tenth of a link, two hundred and twenty links and four-tenths of a link, thirty-one links and eight-tenths of a link, ninety-three links and nine-tenths of a link, and thirty-two links and two-tenths of a link: as the same is delineated on plan number eight hundred and five, deposited in the office of the Chief Surveyor, Napier.

All that parcel of land in the Hawke’s Bay Land District, containing by admeasurement one rood nineteen perches, more or less, being part of Botanical Garden Reserve in the Town of Napier, bounded as follows: Towards the northeast by Chaucer Road, seventy-nine links and five-tenths of a link; towards the east by Chaucer Road, three hundred and four links and nine-tenths of a link; towards the south by Cemetery Reserve, one hundred and fifty links and nine-tenths of a link; towards the west by part of the Botanical Garden Reserve, three hundred and fifty-seven links and three-tenths of a link: as the same is delineated on plan number eight hundred and five, in the office of the Chief Surveyor, Napier.

All that parcel of land in the Hawke’s Bay Land District, containing by admeasurement twenty-three perches, more or less, being part of Cemetery Reserve in the Town of Napier, and bounded as follows: Towards the north by Botanical Garden Reserve, one hundred and nineteen links and one-tenth of a link; towards the south-east by Cemetery Reserve, two hundred and sixty-three links and eight-tenths of a link; towards the west by part of the Botanical Garden Reserve, two hundred and forty-four links and eight-tenths of a link: as the same is delineated on plan number eight hundred and five, deposited in the office of the Chief Surveyor, Napier.

The Governor is hereby empowered to make a grant in freehold, free of cost, of an area of two hundred and seventy-five acres in Sunday Island, situated within the Kermadec group of islands, to one Thomas Bell, the said area to include the homestead and cultivations of the said Thomas Bell.

The Governor is also empowered to grant to the said Thomas Bell permission to use the remainder of the said Sunday Island, until it is required by the Government, on payment of a rent of ten shillings per annum if demanded:

Provided that, if the Government shall at any time require possession of any portion of the said Sunday Island to be given up, the said Thomas Bell shall be entitled to have all improvements effected by him on such portion valued in the manner prescribed by “The Land Act, 1892,” and to receive compensation for such improvements as provided by the said Act

This provision is in lieu of the special grant and lease to Thomas Bell authorised by section thirty of “The Land Act Amendment Act, 1887,” but never effected.

Prom and after the passing of this Act the section of land in the Township of Shannon known as Two hundred and thirty-two shall cease to be a reserve for public buildings, and shall be a reserve for a Mechanics’ Institute and Athenæum.

The Wellington Benevolent Institution Contributors, incorporated under “The Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act, 1885,” is hereby empowered to transfer the title of Section One thousand and forty-one, situated in the City of Wellington, and containing one acre, which is held in trust as a site for an Orphan Asylum, under certificate of title, dated the tenth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, Volume forty-one, folio two hundred and ninety-eight, to the Wellington Ladies’ Christian Association Trustees and their successors in office, incorporated under “The Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act, 1885,” to be held in trust as a site for a Cottage Home for Girls.

The School Commissioners of the Wellington Provincial District are hereby empowered to exchange the following parcel of land, that is to say,—

for the following parcel of land, that is to say,—

The portion of land obtained by the School Commissioners by this exchange shall be held by them for the same purposes and subject to the same conditions as the land given in exchange therefor.

The Governor may sell by auction or otherwise, for cash, the public domain known as Sections Eight hundred and twenty-two and One thousand and eighty-six of the Town of Palmerston North, any Act to the contrary notwithstanding.

The proceeds from such sale, and the moneys in the hands of the Palmerston North Domain Board, shall, within two years after the sale, be used for the purpose of acquiring other land for a recreation-ground for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of the Town of Palmerston North.

The land so acquired shall be, subject to and shall be managed, administered, and dealt with in manner directed by “The Public Domains Act, 1881,” or the Act or Acts in force for the time being dealing with public domains.

The Chairman, Councillors, and Inhabitants of the Wairoa County are hereby empowered to sell by public auction the parcel of land Crown-granted to them on the fifteenth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, as a site for a ferry, containing fifty-five acres, more or less, and being Section numbered Eighteen, Block IX., Nuhaka Survey District, Hawke’s Bay Land District. The proceeds derived from such sale shall be used only towards the construction of a bridge across the Nuhaka River.

The Governor may, in the manner prescribed in “The Public Works Act, 1894,” take compulsorily and determine the lease of the land described in the said Fourth Schedule hereto, being portion of the land known as the Murimotu No. 2 Block, leased, by deed bearing date the eleventh day of July, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, to John Studholme and Thomas Morrin for the term of twenty-one years from the twentieth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two, or of so much thereof as he deems necessary for the purposes of accommodation houses and grounds and other purposes, and such purposes shall be deemed to be a public work within the meaning of the said Act.

The Governor may lease the said land or any portion thereof for any term not exceeding forty-two years, at such rent and upon such terms and conditions as he thinks fit.

The Governor may take compulsorily in manner prescribed in “The Public Works Act, 1894,” such of the lands described in the Fifth Schedule as from time to time be deems necessary for the purpose of providing accommodation for travellers, and such purpose shall be deemed to be a public work within the meaning of the said Act.

The Governor may lease the whole or any portion of the lands so taken for any term not exceeding forty-two years, at such rent and upon such terms and conditions as he thinks fit.

The Governor is hereby empowered to grant an area of two thousand acres of land in the Nelson Land District to the Trustees for the time being of the Nelson Institute, appointed in pursuance of an ordinance of the Province of Nelson, Session VI., No. 4, intituled “The Nelson Institution Act, 1859.”

The land so granted shall be held by the Trustees as an endowment for the said Institute, without power to sell or dispose of any portion of it, except by way of lease for any term not exceeding twenty-one years.

All moneys, rents, and profits received by the said Trustees in respect of the said land shall be applied to the purposes of the said Institute, and to the library, public reading-room, and museum in connection therewith.

Whereas the lands known as “Adele Island” and “Fisherman’s Island,” situate in Tasman Bay, Nelson Land district, were surrendered to Her Majesty in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in part liquidation of a defalcation by a public officer, but no conveyances were executed to give effect to the surrender: Be it therefore enacted that Her Majesty may resume possession of the said islands, and the District Land Registrar is hereby authorised and directed to register the Crown as the owner thereof.

From and after the passing of this Act, the said islands are reserved for the purposes of the preservation of scenery.

The following parcel of land, that is to say,—

may be granted to the Mayor, Councillors, and Burgesses of the Borough of Westport for a fire-brigade station, notwithstanding that the whole of the reserve of which it is a portion was reserved for public buildings and other purposes of the General Government by Order in Council of the seventh day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.

The Church Property Trustees of the Church of England in the Provincial District of Canterbury are hereby empowered to sell the portion of Reserve Number Sixty-seven in the Town of Lyttelton, containing by admeasurement one acre one rood and thirty-two perches, conveyed to them by the Superintendent of the Province of Canterbury, on the twenty-third day of December, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, for a cemetery or burial-ground for the members of the Church of England of the town and district of Lyttelton.

The net proceeds arising from such sale shall be applied by the said Trustees toward the erection of a vicarage or parsonage-house for the use of the parochial district of West Lyttelton.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in “The Public Reserves Act 1881 Amendment Act, 1885,” the Sydenham Borough Council are hereby empowered to charge for admission to Sydenham Park, part of Rural Section Number Two hundred and thirty-nine, situate within, the Borough of Sydenham, on not more than twenty days in any year, as they think fit, not being Christmas Day, Good Friday, or any Sunday; or, to grant the exclusive use of the reserve or any portion thereof on any one or more of the aforesaid twenty days to any person, body, or society for the purpose of particular sports, games, or other recreation, with authority for such person, body, or society to demand a fee for admission to the reserve or part thereof so granted.

Sections Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen (Ellesmere Reserve) in Block X., Halswell Survey District, Canterbury Land District, containing one hundred and sixty-six acres one rood eleven perches, situated on the south bank of the Ahuriri Lagoon, Lake Ellesmere, are hereby reserved for the use of the aboriginal natives of the Ngaitahu Tribe for fishing and other purposes; and the said sections are hereby exempted from the operation of section one hundred and seven of “The Land Act, 1892.”

The land described in the Sixth Schedule hereto is hereby vested in the South Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board as an addition to the site of the Old Men’s Home at Timaru. This parcel of land shall be held by the Board upon the same terms and conditions as the land vested in them by “The Timaru Charitable Aid Institution Vesting Act, 1890.”

The Trustees of the Milton Athenæum Endowment, who are incorporated under “The Milton Athenæum Reserve Act, 1876,” are hereby authorised to exchange the endowment vested in them by “The Milton Athenæum Reserve Act, 1876,” “The Milton Athenæum Endowment Act, 1878,” and clause forty-seven of the Schedule to “The Special Powers and Contracts Act, 1885,” for. Sections One, Two, and Three, Block XVII., Coast District, Otago Land District, which are at present Crown lands.

The Governor is hereby empowered to grant to the said Trustees the Crown lands above described in trust as an endowment for the Milton Athenæum, when the Trustees have executed the necessary deeds of transfer in favour of Her Majesty of the present endowment.

The Governor is hereby empowered to lease by public auction in suitable subdivisions the whole or any portion of the land described in the Seventh Schedule hereto, being land reserved for public purposes in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two by the then Superintendent of Otago.

The School Commissioners for the Otago Provincial District are hereby empowered to exchange with the Mataura Town Board all that piece or parcel of land in the Provincial District of Otago, situate in the Town of Mataura, being Section Seven, Block XIII., on the map of the said town, for all that piece or parcel of land in the Provincial District of Otago, situate in the Town of Mataura Bridge, being Sections One and Fifteen, Block V., on the map of the said town. By the exchange the purpose of Section Seven, Block XIII., Town of Mataura, will be changed from an education reserve to a reserve for a site for an athenæum, and Sections One and Fifteen, Block V., Town of Mataura Bridge, from a reserve for a site for an athenæum to an education reserve.

The Governor is hereby empowered to lease under the provisions of “The Land Act, 1892,” the whole or any portion of the land described in the Eighth Schedule hereto, being land permanently reserved for gravel and other public purposes on the tenth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.

Whereas Alexander and Mary Fanny McKay selected, on the twenty-eighth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, Lot Number One hundred and five, in the Parish of Kaiaka, Land District of Auckland, containing by admeasurement one hundred and fifty acres; and Elizabeth Donaldson selected, on the twenty-third day of January, one thousand eight hundred and ninety, Lot Number Seventy-six, in the Parish of Okaihau, under the homestead system, Appendix “A” of “The Land Act, 1885,” which inter alia provides that selectors must erect a dwelling-house and must reside personally on the land selected by them for five years from the date of selection: And whereas the persons hereinbefore mentioned have resided on lands adjacent to that selected by them, and have not erected dwelling-houses on their lands, but have otherwise complied with the conditions of the selection: And whereas Richard Hinch selected Lot Number One, Block XV., Waimate Survey District, Land District of Canterbury, on lease in perpetuity, under “The Land Act, 1892,” which requires him to personally reside on the land, and be is residing on adjoining land selected by his wife under the same conditions: And whereas it is desirable in all these cases to waive certain of such conditions: Be it therefore enacted as follows:—

The Governor may grant to Alexander and Mary Fanny McKay, in fee-simple, Lot Number One hundred and five, Parish of Kaiaka, containing one hundred and fifty acres, and to Elizabeth Donaldson, in fee-simple, Lot Number Seventy-six, Parish of Okaihau, containing fifty acres, on their severally complying with all the conditions of their license to occupy the said lands, save and except the conditions relating to the erection of a dwelling-house, and to personal residence on the said lands.

The Land Board of the Land District of Canterbury may waive the conditions relating to personal residence by Richard Hinch on Lot Number One, Block XV., Waimate Survey District, so long as he is residing with his wife on Lot Number Two, Block XV., Waimate Survey District.

The Public Trustee is hereby authorised to exchange Sections Three, Four, Five, and Six, part of Lot Eighty-nine of Section Two, in the Borough of Parnell, for Crown lands of equal value, and the sections so exchanged may be proclaimed a recreation reserve, subject to the provisions of “The Public Domains Act, 1881,” or the Act or Acts in force for the time being dealing with public domains.

Section One hundred and seven of the Parish of Mangawai, containing seven hundred and sixty acres or thereabouts, is hereby reserved and set apart as an endowment for the improvement of the Mangawai Harbour, and for such purposes is hereby vested in the Corporation of the Inhabitants of the Mangawai Road District upon the same conditions as are prescribed with regard to similar reserves vested in that Corporation by “The Mangawai Harbour Endowment Reserves Act, 1893.”

The Governor in Council, with the consent of the School Commissioners of the Wellington Provincial District, is hereby empowered to exchange Sections One hundred and twenty-eight, and One hundred and thirty-five, situate in the Carterton District, and containing one hundred and two acres two roods or thereabouts, for-Crown lands of equal value.

It shall be sufficient evidence of such consent if the fact of its having been given is stated in such Order in Council.

Immediately upon the gazetting of such Order in Council the said sections shall be deemed to be transferred to and vested in the Corporation of the Mayor, Councillors, and Burgesses of the Borough of Carterton as an endowment for that borough, and the said Crown lands shall be deemed to be transferred to and vested in the said School Commissioners, to be held by them upon the same trusts and for the same purposes as were the sections exchanged therefor.

The Governor may grant to the Corporation of the Mayor, Councillors, and Burgesses of the Borough of Carterton land for a site for a town hall within Reserve Number Three, reserved for public buildings, and the land so granted shall be held in trust for a town hall, for the use and benefit of that borough.

From and after the passing of this Act—

The purpose of the rubbish reserve known as Rural Section Number Twenty-nine, Block I., Waiopehu Survey District, in the Wellington Land District, and containing by admeasurement five acres, more or less, shall be changed to a site for a public cemetery.

The purpose of the present cemetery reserve known as Suburban Section Number Thirty-two, of the Town of Levin, containing by admeasurement four acres three roods thirty perches, shall be changed to a gravel reserve.

The Governor is hereby empowered to vest Section Seven, Block V., Township of Pohangina, containing one rood, in such Trustees as he approves, who shall hold and administer the same as a site for a public hall.

The Trustees shall pay over to the Palmerston North Hospital Board, in aid of the funds of that hospital, the net proceeds of all rents and profits received in respect of the said section.

The Governor, by Order in Council, is hereby empowered to divest, the lands described in the First and Second Schedules of “The Hokitika Racecourse Reserve Act, 1884,” from the Board constituted under that Act, and to vest the same in six trustees, of whom the president of the Westland Racing Club for the time being shall be one.

The said Trustees shall hold the said lands upon such trusts for the purposes prescribed in “The Hokitika Racecourse Reserve Act, 1884,” and for the benefit of the said club, and with such powers of management (including power to raise any sum not exceeding five hundred pounds by mortgage of the said lands for the purpose of effecting improvements thereon) as the Governor by the same or any other Order in Council prescribes.

That portion of the road-line on the Waiongona River, by the Lepperton Township, occupied by the Lepperton Co-operative Dairy Company (Limited) as a site for a dairy factory, may be sold to the said company by the Waitara West Road Board on such terms as the Minister may approve.

Whereas pursuant to section twenty-one of the Schedule to “The Special Powers and Contracts Act, 1881,” the Governor leased to the Wellington Harbour Board certain land therein mentioned for the term of forty-two years from the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two: And whereas the Board granted a sublease of portion of the said land to the Wellington Meat Export Company (Limited) for the term of twenty-one years from the first day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two: And whereas the company proposes to expend large sums of money in erecting buildings and machinery on the land comprised in its sublease, provided an extended term is secured: And whereas doubts exist whether in granting such sublease the Board was acting strictly within the powers conferred by said section twenty-one: Be it therefore enacted as follows:—

The purposes prescribed by said section twenty-one as those for which the land therein mentioned may be leased are hereby extended so as to include the freezing and storage of meat and of dairy produce.

The said sublease to the company is hereby validated.

Subject to the provisions of its lease from the Governor the Board may, subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, arrange with the company to cancel the said sublease and execute a new lease to the company for such period (not exceeding the unexpired residue of the term of its lease, from the Governor), at such rent, and on such conditions as may be agreed on by private contract, anything in “The Harbours Act, 1878,” “The Wellington Harbour Board Leasing Act, 1886,” or any other Act to the contrary notwithstanding.

All deeds and instruments of assurance necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the exchanges and other dispositions of land authorised or declared by this Act may be executed by the bodies or persons respectively concerned.