This Act may be cited as the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum Act, 1930.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

There shall be established in the City of Wellington in accordance with this Act a National Art Gallery, a Dominion Museum, and a War Memorial Carillon and Hall of Memories.

There is hereby established for the purposes of this Act a Board of Trustees, to be known as “The Board of Trustees of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum” (hereinafter referred to as the Board).

The Board shall be a body corporate, with perpetual succession and a common seal, and shall be capable of holding real and personal property, and of doing and suffering all that bodies corporate may do and suffer.

The Board shall consist of—

The members of the Board, other than members who are such by virtue of their office, shall be appointed for a term not exceeding seven years. Any such member may be reappointed or may at any time resign his office by writing addressed to the Chairman of the Board.

Except as provided in section seven hereof, no member of the Board shall have more than one vote, notwithstanding that at any time a member may hold more than one of the offices mentioned in subsection one hereof, or, being one of the persons mentioned in paragraph (j) of subsection one hereof, may also hold any such office.

In the absence from any meeting of the Board of the Prime Minister or the Minister of Internal Affairs any other Minister of the Crown may attend such meeting in his stead.

In the absence from any meeting of the Board of any member being an officer of any Department of the Public Service, the Minister in charge of that Department may authorize any other officer of the Department to attend such meeting in his stead.

In the absence from any meeting of the Board of any other member who is such by virtue of his office, the local authority or body represented by that member may appoint a suitable person to attend such meeting in his stead.

While any person is attending any meeting of the Board pursuant to this section he shall be deemed for all purposes to be a member of the Board.

Meetings of the Board shall be held at such times and places as the Chairman or the Board shall from time to time appoint.

The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Board at which he is present. In the absence of the Chairman from any meeting of the Board, the Mayor of Wellington, if present, shall be the Chairman. In the absence from any meeting of both the Chairman and the Mayor of Wellington, the members present shall select one of their number to be the Chairman for the purposes of that meeting.

At any meeting of the Board five members shall form a quorum.

At any meeting of the Board the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote, and in the case of an equality of votes shall also have a casting-vote. The decision of the Board on any matter shall be determined by a majority of the valid votes recorded thereon.

Save as expressly provided herein, the Board may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.

Any contract which if made between private persons must be by deed shall, if made by the Board, be in writing under the seal of the Board.

Any contract which if made between private persons must be in writing, signed by the parties to be charged therewith, shall, if made by the Board, be either under the seal of the Board or signed by two members of the Board on behalf of and by direction of the Board.

Any contract which if made between private persons may be made verbally without writing may be similarly made by or on behalf of the Board by any two members acting by direction of the Board, but no verbal contract shall be made involving the payment by the Board of a sum exceeding ten pounds.

The functions of the Board shall be to establish on the site mentioned in the next succeeding section, and to maintain and control, the National Art Gallery, the Dominion Museum, and the War Memorial Carillon and Hall of Memories, and in relation to those institutions the Board shall have all such powers, not inconsistent with this Act, as are reasonably necessary for the effective performance of its duties and functions.

The land described in the First Schedule hereto is hereby vested in the Board for an estate in fee-simple in trust as a site for the National Art Gallery, the Dominion Museum, the War Memorial Carillon and Hall of Memories, and any other buildings and erections associated therewith, and generally for the purposes of the said institutions.

The reservation of the said land for the public purposes of the Dominion, as set out in an Imperial Order in Council dated the tenth day of August, nineteen hundred and nine, intituled the New Zealand Fortifications Order of 1909, is hereby cancelled.

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this section, the Government, until such time as in its discretion it vacates the buildings and erections which are on the said land at the passing of this Act, shall have free right for its officers, servants, and agents, and all persons visiting or having business with them, of access to and occupation of such buildings and erections.

The fund established by public subscription for the establishment of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum, and hitherto administered by the provisional Board of Trustees constituted under section sixty-four of the Finance Act, 1929, the securities in which any moneys belonging to the fund are invested, and all other property and rights of whatever description, whether vested or contingent, belonging to the provisional Board in relation to the proposal to establish a National Art Gallery, Dominion Museum, and War Memorial Carillon and Hall of Memories shall immediately on the passing of this Act be deemed to be vested in the Board constituted under this Act.

All acts heretofore done in good faith by the provisional Board or by any person with the express or implied authority of the provisional Board in relation to the investment of the fund, the payment of expenses the calling for and judging of competitive designs for any building or buildings proposed to be erected, the award of prizes, or otherwise in relation to the said fund or proposal, are hereby validated.

The Board may from time to time appoint such officers as it deems necessary for the efficient exercise and performance of its functions and duties under this Act.

Any person in the service of the Crown may be appointed an officer of the Board under this section:

Provided that no such person shall be entitled to retain his position as a servant of the Crown except—

Provided also that no such person shall be entitled to receive any salary from the Crown for any period for which he receives a salary from the Board.

The Board may from time to time with the approval of the Prime Minister—

For the purpose of enabling the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts to sell its land and to pay the net proceeds of such sale to the Board pursuant to section ten of the Reserves and other Lands Disposal Act, 1928, the Board is hereby expressly empowered to provide and make permanently available for the carrying-on of the objects and purposes of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts such accommodation in the building of the National Art Gallery as the Board thinks fit.

There shall from time to time in accordance with this section be appointed a separate committee of management for each of the institutions under the control of the Board, which shall be responsible to the Board for the management and control of such institution, and shall have in relation thereto such powers and functions as the Board may in its discretion confer on such committee.

Every such committee of management shall consist of not less than five or more than nine members, of whom two shall in each case be members of the Board.

The members of each such committee of management shall be appointed by the Board, for a term not exceeding three years, save that any such member may be at any time removed from office by the Board, or may on the expiration of his term of office be reappointed as a member of any committee.

The Board may appoint any member of any such committee of management to be the permanent Chairman thereof; and if no such appointment is made, or if the office of Chairman is vacant, the committee may from time to time appoint one of its members to be the Chairman until the Board appoints a Chairman. The Board may from time to time remove the Chairman of any such committee and appoint another in his stead.

Every such committee of management on which any powers or functions are conferred as aforesaid may, without confirmation by the Board, exercise or perform such powers and functions in the like manner and with the same effect as the Board could itself have exercised or performed them.

Every such committee of management shall be subject in all things to the control of the Board and shall carry out all directions, general or special, of the Board given in relation to such committee or its affairs.

All lands for the time being vested in the Board and held by it as the site of any of the institutions maintained by the Board, or in conjunction with any such site, shall be deemed not to be rateable property for the purposes of the Rating Act, 1925; and in respect thereof the Board shall be exempt from liability for the payment of rates.

The Board is hereby declared to be exempt from the payment of land-tax and income-tax under the Land and Income Tax Act, 1923.

All moneys received by the Board shall be forthwith paid into an account in the Board’s name at such bank as the Board from time to time directs. No moneys shall be drawn out of the bank except by authority of the Board. All cheques on the Board’s account shall be signed by the treasurer or other officer of the Board appointed for the purpose, and countersigned by two members of the Board authorized by the Board from time to time to countersign cheques.

Any moneys belonging to the Board and available for investment may be invested with the Public Trustee or in accordance with the provisions of the Trustee Act, 1908, as to the investment of trust funds.

The accounts of the Board shall be subject to audit in the same manner in all respects as if the moneys of the Board were public moneys within the meaning of the Public Revenues Act, 1926.

The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule hereto are hereby repealed.