Commonwealth act

Coast Defence Appropriation Act 1908

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

19 of 1908

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

1/10 complexity

What this law does

This law takes £250,000 from the government's main bank account (called the Consolidated Revenue Fund) and sets it aside specifically for naval harbor and coastal defences.

Key details:

The money: A quarter of a million pounds was allocated (a significant sum in 1908) to a special trust account called the Harbor and Coastal Defence (Naval) Account.
The purpose: To fund the protection of Australia's ports and coastlines—essentially building or upgrading forts, guns, and other military installations to defend against naval attacks.
Legal mechanism: This is an "appropriation" (a formal legal permission to spend public money on a specific thing).

Why it matters:

At the time, Australia was strengthening its military independence. This Act provided the cash to build physical defences for major ports, reflecting early 20th-century fears of naval invasion in the Pacific region.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Coast Defence Appropriation Act 1908.

Coast Defence Appropriation Act 1908

COAST DEFENCE APPROPRIATION.

No. 19 of 1908.

An Act to grant and apply out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund the sum of Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for Harbor and Coastal Defences.

[Assented to 10th June, 1908.]

Preamble.

BE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, for the purpose of appropriating the grant originated in the House of Representatives, as follows:—

Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Coast Defence Appropriation Act 1908.

Appropriation of £250,000 for Harbor and Coastal Defence.

There shall be payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is hereby appropriated accordingly for the purposes of the Trust Account established under the Audit Acts 1901–1906 and known as the Harbor and Coastal Defence (Naval) Account, the sum of Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for Harbor and Coastal Defence (Naval) purposes.

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 Coast Defence Appropriation Act 1908