{"id":"church-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938","name":"Church of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938","slug":"church-of-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173377,"registerId":"vic-church-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Church of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938","content":"Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi\nVersion No. 001\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act\n1938\nAct No. 4590/1938\nVersion as at 26 February 2003\nTABLE OF PROVISIONS\nSection Page\n1. Short title 2\n2. Definitions 2\n3. Alteration of trusts upon which land in Schedule is held and\npowers of disposition etc. thereof 3\n__________________\nSCHEDULE 5\n═══════════════\nENDNOTES 6\n1. General Information 6\n2. Table of Amendments 7\n3. Explanatory Details 8\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1\nVersion No. 001\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act\n1938\nAct No. 4590/1938\nVersion as at 26 February 2003\nAn Act to make provision with respect to the Trusts upon which\nCertain Land at Port Fairy is held by The Ballarat Diocesan\nTrustees and with respect to the Sale or other Disposition of\nsuch Land and the Application of the Proceeds thereof, and for\nother purposes.\nPreamble\nWHEREAS by an indenture of conveyance dated\nthe first day of August One thousand eight hundred\nand fifty (a memorial of which is registered in the\nOffice of the Registrar-General Number 142\nBook K) the land secondly mentioned and\ndescribed in the said indenture, being the land\ndescribed in the Schedule to this Act, was\nconveyed unto certain persons named in the said\nindenture as trustees of an intended church and\nminister's dwelling at Belfast (now Port Fairy),\nappointed under and by virtue of an Act of the\nGovernor and Legislative Council of New South\nWales passed in the eighth year of the reign of His\nLate Majesty King William the Fourth intituled\n\"An Act to regulate the temporal affairs of\nChurches and Chapels of the United Church of\nEngland and Ireland, in New South Wales\", their\nheirs and assigns for ever upon trust for the\nerection thereon of a minister's dwelling in\nconnexion with a church or chapel to be erected on\ncertain other land conveyed by the said indenture\nof conveyance and also upon trust for the purposes\nprovided for in and by the said Act:\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 4590/1938\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938\n2\nAND WHEREAS by an indenture of conveyance\ndated the twentieth day of November One\nthousand nine hundred and twenty-six (a memorial\nof which is registered in the Office of the\nRegistrar-General Number 480 Book 521) the\nrepresentatives of the last survivor of the said\ntrustees conveyed the land described in the said\nSchedule unto The Ballarat Diocesan Trustees its\nsuccessors and assigns for ever upon the trusts\nhereinbefore recited:\nAND WHEREAS the land has been found\nunsuitable as a site for a minister's dwelling:\nAND WHEREAS it is expedient to declare that the\nsaid land shall be deemed to be held by the said\nThe Ballarat Diocesan Trustees upon and subject\nto the trusts hereinafter provided and with the\npowers of disposition thereof and dealing therewith\nhereinafter provided and to make such provision\nwith respect to the application of the proceeds of\nany sale or other disposition thereof or dealing\ntherewith as is hereinafter provided:\nBE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the King's Most\nExcellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the\nLegislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria\nin this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of\nthe same as follows (that is to say):\n1. Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Church of England\n(Port Fairy) Land Act 1938.\n2. Definitions\nIn this Act unless inconsistent with the context or\nsubject matter—\n\"Bishop of Ballarat\" includes the person duly\nauthorized to administer the affairs of the\nDiocese of Ballarat during any vacancy of\nthe See;\ns. 1\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 4590/1938\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938\n3\n\"Trustees\" means The Ballarat Diocesan\nTrustees.\n3. Alteration of trusts upon which land in Schedule is\nheld and powers of disposition etc. thereof\n(1) Notwithstanding anything in any Act or enactment\nor in any conveyance assurance or trust\nwhatsoever—\n(a) from and after the commencement of this\nAct the trustees shall, subject to the exercise\nof the powers conferred on the trustees by\nthe next succeeding paragraph, be deemed to\nhold the land described in the Schedule to\nthis Act upon trust to permit the whole or\nany part of the said land to be used for such\npurposes of the Church of England or for\nsuch use of any minister or officer thereof or\nof any institution conducted or controlled by\nthe said church or connected therewith as the\nBishop of Ballarat acting under the advice of\nthe Council of the Diocese of Ballarat\ndirects; and\n(b) the trustees with the consent of the Bishop of\nBallarat acting under the advice of the\nCouncil of the Diocese of Ballarat may\nmortgage sell lease (whether on building\nlease or otherwise) or exchange the said land\nor any part thereof and may create easements\nover or reserve roads on the said land or any\npart thereof.\n(2) The trustees shall apply any proceeds arising from\nany mortgage sale lease or other dealing with the\nsaid land as provided in paragraph (b) of sub-\nsection (1) of this section towards the cost of\nerecting a minister's dwelling on other land in the\ntown of Port Fairy and towards such other\npurposes in connexion therewith as the Bishop of\ns. 3\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 4590/1938\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938\n4\nBallarat acting under the advice of the Council of\nthe Diocese of Ballarat from time to time directs.\n__________________\ns. 3\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 4590/1938\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938\n5\nSCHEDULE\nLand, being the land held by The Ballarat Diocesan Trustees in trust as a site\nfor a Minister's dwelling at Port Fairy, with respect to which the trusts\nare by this Act changed, and which may be mortgaged sold leased or\nexchanged as by this Act provided.\nTwo acres more or less being allotments 3, 4, 7 and 8, Block 21, Town of\nPort Fairy, Parish of Belfast, County of Villiers:\nCommencing at a point bearing South two chains from the north-east corner\nof Villiers-street and Bank-street in the said Town, thence by Villiers-street\naforesaid bearing South four chains, thence by allotments numbers 2 and 9 of\nthe said block being a line bearing West five chains, thence on the West by\nCollege-street bearing North four chains, thence on the North by allotments\nnumbers 5 and 6 of the said block being a line bearing East five chains to the\npoint of commencement.\n═══════════════\nSch.\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 4590/1938\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938\n6\nENDNOTES\n1. General Information\nThe Church of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938 was assented to on\n21 November 1938 and came into operation on 21 November 1938.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 4590/1938\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938\n7\n2. Table of Amendments\nThere are no amendments made to the Church of England (Port Fairy)\nLand Act 1938 by Acts and subordinate instruments.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 4590/1938\nChurch of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938\n8\n3. Explanatory Details\nNo entries at date of publication.\nEndnotes","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, there is no indication that the scope of this Act changed from its original intent. It appears to have remained a narrow, single-purpose land-dealing Act specific to Church of England property in Port Fairy, with no amendments on record broadening or narrowing its application."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely narrow and specific subject matter — limited to one parcel or parcels of land in one town","Historical Act from 1938 with minimal legislative history provided","Full text of the Act is not available in the excerpt, so precise operative provisions cannot be assessed","Likely a single-purpose enabling Act (common for this era), which are inherently simple in structure","Any complexity that originally existed (e.g. trust law, land grant conditions) would have been resolved at the time of enactment"],"plain_english_summary":"The Church of England (Port Fairy) Land Act 1938 is a narrow, historical Victorian statute that authorised the Anglican Church to alter the ownership or use of particular parcels of church land in Port Fairy that were otherwise tied up by trust or grant restrictions. It affects essentially no one today: the Act is retained on the books but is spent, relevant only to historical title or heritage queries concerning that specific land."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This legislation has remained tightly scoped to its original purpose since 1938. It was always intended as a one-off solution for a specific land trust problem in Port Fairy, and it has not expanded beyond that narrow remit. No amendments have been made."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 operative sections plus a Schedule","2 defined terms in the interpretation section","Single purpose legislation with no cross-references to other Acts (except historical references in the preamble)","Straightforward conditional logic: Bishop's consent required for dispositions, proceeds directed to specific purpose","No amendments since enactment in 1938","Preamble is lengthy but purely historical/recital in nature"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is a very specific, one-off law from 1938 that deals with a single piece of land in Port Fairy, Victoria. Back in 1850, some land was given to church trustees to build a minister's house (a home for a church leader). By 1938, that land was no longer suitable for that purpose.\n\n**What it changes:**\n\nThe law does three main things:\n\n*   **Changes the rules** about how the land can be used. Instead of being locked into building a minister's house on that specific spot, the Ballarat Diocesan Trustees (the church body that now owns the land) can now use it for any church-related purpose — as directed by the Bishop of Ballarat with advice from the Diocesan Council.\n\n*   **Lets them sell or lease the land**. The trustees can now mortgage, sell, lease, or swap the land, or create easements (rights of way) over it — but only with the Bishop's approval and the Diocesan Council's advice.\n\n*   **Dictates where the money goes**. Any money made from selling or leasing the land must be used to build a minister's house on *different* land in Port Fairy, plus other related costs as the Bishop directs.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nPrimarily the Anglican Church (Church of England) in the Ballarat Diocese, specifically the trustees managing church property in Port Fairy. It also affects anyone who might want to buy or lease this specific 2-acre block.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis is an example of a \"private Act\" — legislation passed to solve a specific problem for a specific entity, rather than a general law applying to everyone. It shows how Parliament can be used to untangle historical trust arrangements when circumstances change. The original 1850 trust deed was too rigid for 1938 realities, so Parliament stepped in to modernise the arrangement while keeping the money within the church's purposes."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. The Act replaces the original, narrow trust (holding the land as a site for a minister's dwelling) by deeming the land to be held for a wider set of Church purposes and for ministerial or institutional uses as the Bishop (with Diocesan Council advice) directs, and it authorises disposal and encumbrance of the land. It also requires proceeds of any disposal to be applied to erect a minister's dwelling on other Port Fairy land (Preamble; s.3(1)(a),(b); s.3(2); Schedule)."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, local scope: applies only to the land described in the Schedule (Schedule).","Statutory alteration of pre-existing trusts and conveyances — the Act deems new trusts despite earlier instruments (Preamble; s.3(1)).","Broad delegation of discretion to the Bishop of Ballarat acting under advice of the Diocesan Council for permitted uses and application of proceeds (s.3(1)(a); s.3(2)).","Expansive disposal powers for trustees, subject to Bishop's consent: mortgage, sell, lease (including building leases), exchange, create easements or reserve roads (s.3(1)(b)).","Mandatory application of proceeds for erecting a minister's dwelling in Port Fairy and related purposes — creates a specific fiduciary spending requirement (s.3(2)).","Interaction with historical documents and statutes referenced in the preamble increases interpretive steps (Preamble).","Few sections and limited technical provisions reduce structural complexity, but property and trust law consequences require ordinary legal conveyancing and trust-administration steps."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act changes the trusts over specific land in Port Fairy held by The Ballarat Diocesan Trustees so the land may be used for any Church of England purpose as directed by the Bishop of Ballarat (acting with the Diocesan Council), and so the trustees may mortgage, sell, lease or exchange it. Proceeds must be applied towards erecting a minister's dwelling elsewhere in Port Fairy and related purposes. It affects the Trustees, the Bishop, the Diocesan Council and anyone dealing with that land."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/church-of-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938","history":"/api/acts/church-of-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938/history","analysis":"/api/acts/church-of-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/church-of-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/church-of-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/church-of-england-port-fairy-land-act-1938/documents"}}