{"id":"geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959","name":"Geelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act 1959","slug":"geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173451,"registerId":"vic-geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Geelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act 1959","content":"Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi\nVersion No. 001\nGeelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act\n1959\nAct No. 6588/1959\nVersion as at 1 November 1999\nTABLE OF PROVISIONS\nSection Page\n1. Short title 2\n2. Validation of appointment of trustees 2\n3. Power of trustees to mortgage lands 2\n4. Trustees and land not to be subject to Libraries Act 1958 2\n__________________\nSCHEDULE 3\n═══════════════\nENDNOTES 4\n1. General Information 4\n2. Table of Amendments 5\n3. Explanatory Details 6\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1\nVersion No. 001\nGeelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act\n1959\nAct No. 6588/1959\nVersion as at 1 November 1999\nAn Act relating to the Trustees of the Geelong Trades Hall\nCouncil, and for other purposes.\nPreamble\nWHEREAS doubts have arisen as to the\nappointment or purported appointment of persons\nholding office or acting as trustees of the Geelong\nTrades Hall Council and as to the powers of the\nsaid trustees in respect of certain lands described in\nthe Schedule to this Act upon which the Geelong\nTrades Hall is situate or which are occupied in\nconnexion therewith:\nAND WHEREAS the said trustees or their\npredecessors in office are the registered proprietors\nor are or claim to be the legal owners in fee simple\nof the said lands:\nAND WHEREAS it is expedient to validate the\nappointment or purported appointment of the said\ntrustees and to make provision whereby the said\ntrustees may mortgage the said lands or their\ninterest therein:\nBE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen'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):\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 6588/1959\nGeelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act 1959\n2\n1. Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Geelong Trades\nHall Council (Trustees) Act 1959.\n2. Validation of appointment of trustees\n(1) The appointment or purported appointment of\nColin Douglas Macdonald of 91 Church-street\nWest Geelong formerly parliamentarian now clerk\nArthur Halley Gration of 24 Mercer-parade\nNewtown boot repairer and William Henry Austin\nof 40 George-street Newtown clerk as trustees of\nthe Geelong Trades Hall Council is hereby\ndeclared to be valid and effectual for all purposes.\n(2) It is hereby declared that the said trustees hold all\ntheir right title and interest in the lands described\nin the Schedule to this Act upon trust for the\nGeelong Trades Hall Council.\n3. Power of trustees to mortgage lands\nNotwithstanding anything in any Act the said\ntrustees shall in addition to any other powers\nexercisable by them in respect of the said lands\nhave power from time to time with the approval of\nthe Geelong Trades Hall Council to mortgage the\nsaid lands or their interest therein.\n4. Trustees and land not to be subject to Libraries Act\n1958\nUpon the commencement of this Act the said\nlands or the interest of the said trustees therein and\nthe said trustees shall so far as they were subject\nto the provisions of the Libraries Act 1958 cease\nto be so subject but this section shall not affect\nany obligation incurred by the said trustees in\nrespect of moneys borrowed pursuant to that Act\nbefore such commencement.\n__________________\ns. 1\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 6588/1959\nGeelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act 1959\n3\nSCHEDULE\nAll that piece of land being part of Crown allotments 15 and 16 of section 25\nin the city of Geelong parish of Corio county of Grant commencing at the\nsouth-west corner of Crown allotment 15 and bounded on the south by\nMyers-street bearing easterly eighty-two feet seven inches on the east by\nother portion of Crown allotment 16 being a line bearing northerly ninety-six\nfeet one and a half inches on the north by the southern boundary of a road\nknown as Smythe-place bearing westerly thirty-two feet three inches and\nfurther on the east by the western boundary of the said road known as\nSmythe-place bearing northerly sixty feet eight inches and further on the\nnorth by the other portion of Crown allotment 15 being a line bearing\nwesterly forty-nine feet ten and a half inches and on the west by the western\nboundary of the said Crown allotment 15 being a line bearing southerly one\nhundred and fifty-seven feet to the commencing point, being the land\ndescribed in the memorials of conveyances registered in the Office of the\nRegistrar-General numbers 913 and 914 book 558 and in certificates of title\nentered in the register book of the Office of Titles volume 4099 folium\n819695 and volume 5951 folium 1190151 and a lane twelve feet wide\nleading to the said road known as Smythe-place from the land described in\nthe said memorial number 914 book 558.\n═══════════════\nSch.\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 6588/1959\nGeelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act 1959\n4\nENDNOTES\n1. General Information\nThe Geelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act 1959 was assented to on\n8 December 1959 and came into operation on 8 December 1959.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 6588/1959\nGeelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act 1959\n5\n2. Table of Amendments\nThere are no amendments made to the Geelong Trades Hall Council\n(Trustees) Act 1959 by Acts and subordinate instruments.\nEndnotes\n\nVictorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 6588/1959\nGeelong Trades Hall Council (Trustees) Act 1959\n6\n3. Explanatory Details\nNo entries at date of publication.\nEndnotes","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act conforms to its Preamble and original purpose: it validates trustee appointments, declares the trustees hold the specified land on trust, authorises mortgages with Council approval, and excludes the land/trustees from the Libraries Act while preserving prior borrowing obligations (see Preamble; ss 2–4; Schedule). No amendments alter that scope."},"complexity_factors":["Validation of named individuals as trustees makes the statute fact-specific and dependent on historical facts (s2).","Conferral of mortgage power is broad but conditional on approval by the Geelong Trades Hall Council, creating an internal governance check (s3).","Use of an overriding phrase ('Notwithstanding anything in any Act') may interact with other statutes and requires attention to statutory hierarchy (s3).","Removal from the Libraries Act 1958 alters external regulatory coverage but preserves obligations for earlier borrowings, creating a limited transitional exception (s4).","Precise land description in the Schedule fixes the scope to particular cadastral parcels, so property-identification and title-search work are needed to apply the Act (Schedule)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act validates the appointment of specific trustees, confirms they hold title to the Geelong Trades Hall land described in the Schedule, allows them — with Geelong Trades Hall Council approval — to mortgage that land, and removes the land and trustees from the operation of the Libraries Act 1958. It affects the named trustees, the Geelong Trades Hall Council and any creditors: the Council (via trustees) can raise secured finance on the property, trustees act with Council consent, and prior loans under the Libraries Act remain payable."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains exactly as enacted in 1959. It was always intended as a narrow, specific fix for the Geelong Trades Hall Council's trustee issues, and has not expanded beyond that original purpose. The Table of Amendments confirms no changes have ever been made."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 4 operative sections plus a Schedule","No defined terms section; only one term ('the said trustees') used repeatedly","Minimal cross-referencing (only references to the Schedule and the Libraries Act 1958)","Simple conditional logic: only one approval requirement (Council approval for mortgages) and one savings clause (existing debts under Libraries Act remain)","Narrow, specific purpose: validates three named individuals and one specific parcel of land only","No delegated legislation or regulation-making powers"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short Victorian law from 1959 that fixes a specific legal problem for the Geelong Trades Hall Council, which is a union/labour organisation building.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Fixes a dodgy appointment**: Three men (Colin Macdonald, Arthur Gration, and William Austin) had been acting as trustees for the Trades Hall Council, but there were doubts about whether their appointments were legally proper. This law says \"yes, their appointments are valid\" — even if there were technical problems with how they were originally appointed.\n\n- **Confirms they hold the land in trust**: It declares that these three men legally hold the land described in the Schedule (a specific block in Geelong with frontages on Myers Street and Smythe Place) on behalf of the Geelong Trades Hall Council.\n\n- **Lets them mortgage the property**: Normally, trustees have limited powers. This law specifically gives these trustees the power to take out a mortgage on the land (borrow money using the land as security), provided the Trades Hall Council approves.\n\n- **Gets them out of the Libraries Act**: The land and trustees had somehow become subject to Victoria's Libraries Act 1958. This law removes them from that Act's coverage, though any existing debts borrowed under that Act still need to be paid.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- The three named trustees and the Geelong Trades Hall Council\n- Anyone dealing with the property (banks, lenders, future buyers)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, the trustees might not have had clear legal authority to manage or borrow against the property. This \"validation\" (legal clean-up) ensures the Trades Hall Council can keep operating its building with proper legal certainty."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to have maintained its original narrow purpose of establishing a trustee structure for the Geelong Trades Hall Council's property. There is no indication from the available text of scope expansion or significant amendment over time."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow and specific subject matter — limited to one organisation's property arrangements","Standard trustee framework with well-established legal precedent","Short Act with minimal provisions based on available text","No apparent cross-references to complex regulatory schemes","Historical legislation unlikely to have generated significant interpretive disputes"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act creates a formal trustee arrangement so the Geelong Trades Hall Council — an unincorporated trade‑union body — can hold and manage its property through appointed trustees. It affects the Council and its member unions, the trustees who administer the building and assets, and parties dealing with Trades Hall property. Primarily administrative and historical, it provides legal certainty for ownership and contracts that the unincorporated Council otherwise could not hold."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959","history":"/api/acts/geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959/history","analysis":"/api/acts/geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/geelong-trades-hall-council-trustees-act-1959/documents"}}