Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 (Victoria)

Mechanically, the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 (the Act) rewrites who holds certain property that before 22 June 1977 was held for or in connection with the Presbyterian Church in Victoria and validates a set of transitional arrangements that arose from the 1977 union that created The Uniting Church in Australia. The principal operations are:

Retroactive commencement: the Act is deemed to have come into operation on 22 June 1977 (s 1(3)). The retroactivity underpins the statutory vesting and validation effects that follow.
Statutory divestment and vesting: subject to the carve-outs and the division rules, most real and personal property that before the Act was vested in trustees or otherwise held on trust for the Presbyterian Church (including congregations, boards, committees and institutions) is divested from those persons and vested in The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) (s 4(1)). The vesting is subject to the Uniting Church Act and the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 as mentioned in the Act (s 4(1), s 3(2)).
Confirmed allocation for a subset of property: Schedule One sets out detailed lists of property which are to remain vested in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation (Part A), be vested in specific trustees on the same trusts as before (Part B), and land reserved for church purposes deemed to have always been reserved for the Presbyterian Church of Victoria (Part C) (s 5(1)-(4); Schedule One).
Statutory division by percentage for other property: for property (other than property acquired on or after 22 June 1977) that a Commission under Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 has determined is to be divided, the Act prescribes sale (for real property) and calling in/conversion (for personal property), with 75 per cent of net proceeds payable to The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) and 25 per cent payable to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation (s 6(1)-(2)).

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi Version No. 001 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 Act No. 9344/1979 Version as at 3 March 2003 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Section Page

Short title, principal Act and commencement 3
Definitions 3
Interpretation 4
Property vested in The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) 4
Matters referred to in Schedule One 5
Division of Property 7
Transactions referred to in Schedule Two 8
Donations, gifts, dispositions, bequests of trust property real or personal 8
Trustees constituting Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation 9
Certain proceedings not to be affected by this Act 11
Act not to affect Scots' Church property 12

SCHEDULES 13 SCHEDULE 1 13 SCHEDULE 2—Transactions to be ratified 38 SCHEDULE 3—Trustees of Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation 41 ═══════════════ ENDNOTES 42

General Information 42
Table of Amendments 43
Explanatory Details 44

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents1 Version No. 001 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 Act No. 9344/1979 Version as at 3 March 2003 An Act to make further Provision with respect to the Division of certain Property in accordance with The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 and Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971, to amend the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1890 and for other purposes. Preamble WHEREAS an Act of the Parliament of Victoria intituled the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1890 was passed to provide for the holding of property for the purposes of and in connexion with the Presbyterian Church of Victoria: AND WHEREAS an Act of the Parliament of Victoria intituled the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 was passed inter alia to enable the Presbyterian Church of Australia to enter into union with other churches and to provide for those of its congregations that did not concur in the decision to unite: AND WHEREAS the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia on 1 May 1974 resolved that the Presbyterian Church of Australia enter into union with the annual conferences of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia of the Methodist Church of Australasia and with the Congregational Union of Australia on its own behalf and on behalf of those churches on whose behalf the Congregational Union of Australia was empowered so to do:

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 2 AND WHEREAS such union took place on 22 June 1977 and pursuant to The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 the church resulting from such union is The Uniting Church in Australia: AND WHEREAS since 22 June 1977 a minority of Presbyterians in Victoria in accordance with clause 18 of Part III of the Schedule to the said Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 has continued to function as the Presbyterian Church of Victoria: AND WHEREAS it was the intent of that minority of Presbyterians in Victoria— (a) that the corporate body of trustees constituted under the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1890 by the name of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation should continue to exist to act as the corporate body of trustees of those Presbyterians who elected to and have continued to function as the Presbyterian Church of Victoria; and (b) that the provisions of the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1890 and the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1900 should continue to extend and apply to and in relation to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and to the property of that church: AND WHEREAS it is expedient to give effect to that intention and to confirm, ratify and validate the arrangements made for the division of certain property between The Uniting Church in Australia and the Presbyterian Church of Victoria: BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say): Preamble

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 3

Short title, principal Act and commencement (1) This Act may be cited as the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979. (2) In this Act the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1890 is called the Principal Act. (3) This Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on 22 June 1977.
Definitions (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears— "Presbyterian Church of Victoria" means the Presbyterian Church continuing to function on and after 22 June 1977 under that name or style in accordance with clause 18 of Part III of the schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971; "Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation" means the corporate body of trustees constituted under the Principal Act; "school" means— (a) Ballarat and Clarendon College; (b) Geelong College; (c) Haileybury College; (d) Hamilton and Alexandra College; (e) Morongo Presbyterian Girls' College, Geelong; (f) Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School; (g) Presbyterian Ladies' College; (h) Scotch College; or (i) St. Leonard's College; s. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 4 "school property" means any property held or used for or in connexion with a school. (2) Nothing in this Act except section 7 shall extend or apply to or in relation to any school or school property. 3. Interpretation (1) In section 2 of the Principal Act for the interpretation of "Church" there shall be substituted the following interpretation: ' "Church" means the Presbyterian Church of Victoria continuing to function under the name or style of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in accordance with clause 18 of Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971.'. (2) As on and from 22 June 1977 the Principal Act shall be read and construed and have effect, subject to The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 and the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971, as if any reference to church or to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria however described in the model trust deeds of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria or in any other instrument or document made before 22 June 1977 were a reference to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria continuing to function under that name or style in accordance with clause 18 of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971. 4. Property vested in The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) (1) Subject to the operation of section 6 and except as is otherwise provided by or under the provisions of this Act or the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 and in particular by or under section 3 of the last-mentioned Act but subject to s. 3

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 5 The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 any other real or personal property (other than property acquired on or after 22 June 1977) that before the day upon which this Act receives the Royal Assent, was vested in any person subject to the Principal Act or otherwise in trust for the Presbyterian Church or any congregation, board or committee of management, session, presbytery, committee, council, board or other institution, organization or section thereof is hereby divested from that person and to the extent that it was so vested is without any further act or instrument hereby vested as on and from the day upon which this Act receives the Royal Assent in The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) and shall be held by that Trust in accordance with the provisions of The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977. (2) The property vested in The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) by sub-section (1) shall be deemed to have been vested pursuant to section 20(3) of The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 and sub-sections (4), (5), (6) and (7) of the said section 20 and sections 22, 23 and 24 of that Act shall extend and apply accordingly. 5. Matters referred to in Schedule One (1) Subject to the operation of section 7 the property referred to in Part A of Schedule One shall be retained by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation and shall continue to be subject to the provisions and trusts of the Principal Act as amended by this Act. s. 5

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 6 (2) Subject to the operation of section 7 the property referred to in column 3 of Part B of Schedule One shall be vested in the trustees named in column 4 of Part B of Schedule One upon the same trusts as the property was held immediately before the commencement of this Act and any reference to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria however described in any documents relating to those trusts shall be read and construed as a reference to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria as defined in this Act. (3) The Register of Trustees kept pursuant to section 21 of the Principal Act shall be amended so as to accord with Part B of Schedule One and to relate to the property therein described and as so amended shall be deemed to be the Register as at the commencement of this Act and thereafter the provisions of the Principal Act shall apply thereto as if that Register was the Register duly kept by the Moderator for the purposes of the Principal Act. (4) Subject to the operation of section 7 the land reserved for church purposes in the localities referred to in column 1 of Part C of Schedule One by the Orders in Council referred to in column 2 of the said Part C shall be and be deemed to have always been reserved for the purposes of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria as defined in this Act and the provisions of Act No. 391 intituled "An Act to provide for the abolition of State aid to religion" shall apply accordingly. (5) Subject to the operation of section 6 where any other real or personal property (other than property referred to in Schedule One) is by or under the provisions of the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 and in particular by or under the operation of section 3 of that Act to be retained by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria s. 5

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 7 Trusts Corporation or any other person in trust for the Presbyterian Church of Victoria or any congregation, board or committee of management, session, presbytery, committee, council, board or other institution, organization or section thereof, that property remains vested in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation or that other person for the purposes of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria subject to the provisions and trusts of the Principal Act as amended by this Act unless or until otherwise lawfully disposed of on or after 22 June 1977 and the register referred to in sub-section (3) shall be amended as required. 6. Division of Property (1) Where any property (other than property acquired on or after the 22nd day of June, 1977) was immediately before the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent vested in a person subject to the Principal Act or otherwise in trust for the Presbyterian Church or any congregation, board or committee of management, session, presbytery, committee, council, board or other institution, organization or section thereof and the Commission set up in accordance with Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 has determined that that property is to be divided between The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) and the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation in the proportion of 75 per cent to The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) and 25 per cent to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation that property shall be held— (a) as to the real property (including chattels real) upon trust to sell the same; and s. 6

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 8 (b) as to personal property upon trust to call in, sell and convert into money the whole or such part thereof as may not consist of money— and 75 per cent of the net proceeds to arise from the sale, conversion and calling in of such real and personal property (after payment of costs) shall be paid to The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) to be held in accordance with the provisions of The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 and 25 per cent of such net proceeds shall be paid to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation to be held subject to the provisions and trusts of the Principal Act as amended by this Act. (2) The Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation and The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) are hereby authorized and required to do everything necessary to give effect to any determination referred to in sub- section (1). 7. Transactions referred to in Schedule Two Without limiting the generality of the foregoing the transactions referred to in Schedule Two and the instruments referred to therein shall be deemed to have been validly entered into and shall be in all respects valid and effectual accordingly. 8. Donations, gifts, dispositions, bequests of trust property real or personal (1) Every donation, gift, disposition, bequest or trust of property real or personal whether by deed, will or otherwise, to or in trust for the Presbyterian Church of Victoria which vests or takes effect on or after 22 June 1977 shall not fail by reason of the operation of the Presbyterian Church of s. 7

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 9 Australia Act 1971, The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 or this Act. (2) Where there is any dispute as to whether any property referred to in sub-section (1) should be held on the trusts and for the purposes of The Uniting Church in Australia or the Presbyterian Church of Victoria the matter may be determined by the agreement of the Moderator of the Victorian Synod of The Uniting Church in Australia and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and in default of any such agreement shall be determined by the Supreme Court in accordance with law. 9. Trustees constituting Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act and notwithstanding any rules made by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria or anything done or purporting to have been done by or under the authority of the General Assembly those persons who were the trustees constituting the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation immediately before 22 June 1977 shall be deemed to have continued to be lawfully appointed trustees of that Corporation and all proceedings of and acts, matters and things done or transacted by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation constituted by those trustees on or after 22 June 1977 and before this Act receives the Royal Assent shall be in all respects valid and effectual accordingly as if they had continued to have the same powers and duties in respect of property vested in the Corporation as they had in respect of that property immediately before 22 June 1977. s. 9

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 10 (2) On the day upon which this Act receives the Royal Assent the persons referred to in sub- section (1) shall go out of office and the persons referred to in Schedule Three shall be and be deemed to be the trustees of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation appointed in accordance with section 12 of the Principal Act and they shall hold office for such term and upon such conditions as is prescribed by rules or regulations from time to time in force under the said section 12. (3) It is hereby declared that the rules and regulations of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria shall be and continue to be the rules and regulations of the General Assembly of the Church as defined in the Principal Act until altered or repealed in accordance with the provisions of the Principal Act. (4) No action or proceeding of any kind shall lie or be taken against any person referred to in sub-section (1) for anything done in good faith for or in relation to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation. (5) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing— (a) every deed instrument contract or agreement relating to any property vested in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation or in any person or persons for or on behalf of the Church generally or any congregation thereof which was made or executed by or on behalf of the said Corporation or by or on behalf of such person or persons on or after 22 June 1977 and before the date on which this Act receives the Royal Assent shall for all purposes be deemed to have been validly made and executed; and s. 9

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 11 (b) where any such deed instrument contract or agreement bears the consent in writing pursuant to the Principal Act of a person acting or purporting to act as Moderator of the General Assembly the same shall for all purposes be deemed to have been validly consented to. (6) Any proceedings in relation to any act matter or thing arising or occurring after 22 June 1977 and before the day that this Act receives the Royal Assent for negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust against a board, council or committee of the General Assembly of the Church as defined in the Principal Act or any member thereof or any person employed by or on behalf of the General Assembly of the last-mentioned Church shall be determined as if this Act had not been enacted. 10. Certain proceedings not to be affected by this Act Nothing in this Act shall affect the proceedings in the cases of Attorney-General for the State of Victoria (at the relation of Old Scotch Collegians Association) v. Kenneth Robert Handley & Others, and Attorney-General for the State of Victoria (at the relation of John Thompson MacMillan) v. Kenneth Robert Handley & Others, issued out of the Supreme Court of Victoria and intituled 1977 No. 3271 and 1977 No. 3272 respectively and those cases shall be determined as if this Act had not been enacted. s. 10

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 12 11. Act not to affect Scots' Church property Nothing in this Act shall apply to or affect in any way the operation of the Scots Church Properties Act 1891 or the powers and duties of the trustees appointed under the Scots' Church Trust deed or any property vested in those trustees.

s. 11

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 13 SCHEDULES SCHEDULE ONE PART A The land now comprised in the following Crown Grants and Certificates of Title: Volume Folio 5921 1184148 3757 751276 5880 1175839 6739 1347797 7440 1487823 413 82566 5981 1196167 8818 677 8818 676 3967 793218 8910 679 2013 402432 8310 775 8386 202 8060 979 9146 026 9146 028 2952 590336 3336 667126 6072 1214213 6551 1310103 6775 1354997 8226 984 2604 520755 2500 500000 8153 477 1683 336433 1497 299228 3284 656683 8268 759 9112 231 3923 784468 5115 1022843 2411 482009 1227 245383 8203 707 983 196547 8258 112 8526 192 Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 14 Volume Folio 8526 193 4491 898099 3618 723596 2226 445052 3035 606998 8450 528 8450 529 8450 530 8450 531 8450 532 2917 583284 6922 1384340 3620 723988 8560 564 4608 651 8454 495 2152 367 255 50810 6593 1318438 3915 782957 3209 641702 3777 755278 8679 509 8046 075 5425 929 2629 525668 8304 396 8329 357 8200 354 1545 308908 3575 714823 2020 403805 8613 717 8049 528 9070 830 8138 144 7910 054 6895 1378969 4366 873012 796 159013 8369 850 2098 419439 3367 673352 3637 727254 2996 599009 5064 1012686 1512 302337 8841 428 2425 484958 196 39071 Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 15 Volume Folio 3646 729002 2513 502411 8674 541 2003 400458 2731 546034 3812 762368 2218 443462 8047 864 6122 1224225 5358 1071495 4204 840796 1439 287708 4191 838132 4345 8680903 8017 032 3331 666186 9210 567 6594 1318774 8785 659 8628 001 5992 1198376 3274 654682 3238 647594 2562 512317 3339 667681 4077 815224 1114 222719 3445 688993 The land described in the following deeds registered by: Memorial Book 933 527 981 396 241 470 451 615 136 441 993 598 499 148 840 241 129 309 501 572 512 649 excepting thereout the land described in Certificate of Title Vol. 8625 Fol. 322. Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 16 The following mortgages registered under the Transfer of Land Act 1958: No. G 802239 G 542719 G 64451 G 188195 PART B The First Column shows the locality in which the Church Lands are situate; the Second Column shows the nature of the title, whether Crown Grant, Certificate of Title, or Conveyance; and the Third Column shows in cases of Crown Grants and Certificates of Title respectively the Volume and Folio in the Register Book in the Office of Titles, and in cases of Conveyances registered in the Registrar-General's Office such Third Column shows the Number of each Memorial and Book; which Crown Grants, Certificates of Title, and Memorials of Conveyances respectively contain a description of the lands respectively therein comprised. In all cases where the Volume and Folio are given the Church Lands are under the operation of the Transfer of Land Act 1958. In all other cases under the General Law. The Fourth Column shows the trustees in whom the land is vested. Where * appears opposite any particular land it signifies that part of such land has been sold and duly transferred, conveyed or compulsorily acquired, and that the residue only is intended to be dealt with by this Act. Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Aspendale Certificate of Title Vol. 3886 Fol. 777064 Kenneth Roy Archer, Donald Blair Moulton and Keith Alwyn Murley Aspendale Certificate of Title Vol. 4300 Fol. 859950 Kenneth Roy Archer, Donald Blair Moulton and Keith Alwyn Murley Aspendale Certificate of Title Vol. 4216 Fol. 843017 Kenneth Roy Archer, Donald Blair Moulton and Keith Alwyn Murley Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 17 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Aspendale Certificate of Title Vol. 5194 Fol. 1038646 Kenneth Roy Archer, Donald Blair Moulton and Keith Alwyn Murley Aspendale Certificate of Title Vol. 4751 Fol. 950017 Kenneth Roy Archer, Donald Blair Moulton and Keith Alwyn Murley Auburn Certificate of Title Vol. 8231 Fol. 545 Ross Morton MacDonald, Angus Alfred Horsburgh Smith and Rutherford Kaye Scott Auburn Certificate of Title Vol. 2194 Fol. 438719 Ross Morton MacDonald, Angus Alfred Horsburgh Smith and Rutherford Kaye Scott Balaclava Certificate of Title Vol. 6062 Fol. 1212256 Robert Wesley Allen, Ian Park MacGowan, Kenneth Leslie Dobrich Balaclava Certificate of Title Vol. 6062 Fol. 1212257 Robert Wesley Allen, Ian Park MacGowan, Kenneth Leslie Dobrich Balmattum Certificate of Title Vol. 1332 Fol. 266305 Lindsay Maynard Birch, Allan William Gall Ballarat, Ebenezer Certificate of Title Vol. 1696 Fol. 339099 Robert Gordon Young, James Ford and William Nicholson Ballarat, Knox Certificate of Title Vol. 4095 Fol. 932 Harry Winston Caddy, Jack Neil Wallace and Thomas Keith Trenfield Ballarat, Knox Certificate of Title Vol. 2516 Fol. 503132 Harry Winston Caddy, Jack Neil Wallace and Thomas Keith Trenfield Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 18 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Ballarat, Scots Conveyance No. 8 Book 360 Leslie Joseph Rizzoli, George Borlace Richmond Ballarat, Scots Certificate of Title Vol. 2835 Fol. 885 Leslie Joseph Rizzoli, George Borlace Richmond and Peter Hoskin Ballarat, Scots Certificate of Title Vol. 5621 Fol. 1124014 Leslie Joseph Rizzoli, George Borlace Richmond Ballarat, St. Johns Certificate of Title Vol. 5269 Fol. 614 Leslie James Drury, Francis George Sarah and William Arthur Pascoe Ballarat, St. Johns Certificate of Title Vol. 1358 Fol. 271465 Leslie James Drury, Francis George Sarah and William Arthur Pascoe Ballarat, St. Johns Certificate of Title Vol. 1325 Fol. 264949 Leslie James Drury, Francis George Sarah and William Arthur Pascoe Ballarat, St. Johns Certificate of Title Vol. 800 Fol. 159889 Leslie James Drury, Francis George Sarah and William Arthur Pascoe Bamawn Certificate of Title Vol. 8440 Fol. 719 James Henry Nicholson, Douglas Randal Hancock and Donald Matheson Brown Baynton Certificate of Title Vol. 8194 Fol. 487 Gerald George McKenna, Wildred Edward Green and James Hamilton Young Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 19 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Brighton Certificate of Title Vol. 4596 Fol. 197 Maxwell Walter Bowden, Ian Bruce Ferguson, Jack William Avery, David Norman Burns and Alan Clark Ferguson Brighton Certificate of Title Vol. 8870 Fol. 562 Maxwell Walter Bowden, Ian Bruce Ferguson, Jack William Avery, David Norman Burns and Allan Clark Ferguson Broadford Certificate of Title Vol. 1798 Fol. 359550 Alexander Cockburn Thomson and Wilfred Kevin Crawford

Broadford Conveyance No. 458 Book 331 Alexander Cockburn Thomson and Wilfred Kevin Crawford Broadford Certificate of Title Vol. 8255 Fol. 493 Alexander Cockburn Thomson and Wilfred Kevin Crawford Camberwell Certificate of Title Vol. 3219 Fol. 643675 A. D. G. Adam, A. J. Petrie, H. R. Berg, W. R. Hobbs and H. C. McTaggart Camberwell Certificate of Title Vol. 8875 Fol. 644 A. D. G. Adam, A. J. Petrie, H. R. Berg, W. R. Hobbs and H. C. McTaggart Canterbury Certificate of Title Vol. 2808 Fol. 561493 Ronald Campbell MacTaggart, Murray Alan Neil, David Andrew Slater, and Ernest O'Donnell Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 20 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Canterbury Certificate of Title Vol. 3667 Fol. 733310 Ronald Campbell MacTaggart, Murray Alan Neil, David Andrew Slater, and Ernest O'Donnell Canterbury Certificate of Title Vol. 4511 Fol. 902003 Ronald Campbell MacTaggart, Murray Alan Neil, David Andrew Slater and Ernest O'Donnell Canterbury Certificate of Title Vol. 2563 Fol. 512462 Ronald Campbell MacTaggart, Murray Alan Neil, David Andrew Slater and Ernest O'Donnell Canterbury Certificate of Title Vol. 4946 Fol. 989151 Ronald Campbell MacTaggart, Murray Alan Neil, David Andrew Slater and Ernest O'Donnell Caulfield Certificate of Title Vol. 2336 Fol. 467057 William Harry Hanson, Harcourt Charles Williams, Frederick Charles McDonald, Phillis Iolanthe Small and Ivor Thomas Davies Caulfield Certificate of Title Vol. 4539 Fol. 097734 William Harry Hanson, Harcourt Charles Williams, Frederick Charles McDonald, Phillis Iolanthe Small and Ivor Thomas Davies Cheltenham Certificate of Title Vol. 5220 Fol. 1043845 James Charles Flavel, Kenneth James Whitehead and Horace Ormond Williams Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 21 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Clarinda Certificate of Title Vol. 8569 Fol. 388 Ross Wilbur Voigt, John Francis Ball and Kenneth Royston Jenkin Clayton Certificate of Title Vol. 8023 Fol. 044 Leslie Riachar McIntyre, Ian Lewls Carmichael and Duncan McInnes Clifton Hill Certificate of Title Vol. 1288 Fol. 257565 Alan Harris Barnett, Christina Myrtle Wilmot and Alan Robert Ferguson Clifton Hill Certificate of Title Vol. 1328 Fol. 265512 Alan Harris Barnett, Christina Myrtle Wilmot and Alan Robert Ferguson Clifton Hill Certificate of Title Vol. 6485 Fol. 1290937 David Tatam Clifton Hill Certificate of Title Vol. 999 Fol. 199798 David Spence, Joseph Cole, Edward Office Wallis Cranbourne Certificate of Title Vol. 1103 Fol. 220432 Norman L. Brunt, Frederick William Greaves, Edward Kennett and Arthur Ernest Jones Daylesford Certificate of Title Vol. 671 Fol. 134103 Victor Stanley Newton, Frederick William Stanley Verey, John William Jayes Daylesford Certificate of Title Vol. 2579 Fol. 515665 Victor Stanley Newton, Frederick William Stanley Verey, John William Jayes Daylesford Certificate of Title Vol. 735 Fol. 146807 Victor Stanley Newton, Frederick William Stanley Verey, John William Jayes Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 22 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Donvale Certificate of Title Vol. 8420 Fol. 823 John Causton Foyster Dromana Certificate of Title Vol. 5555 Fol. 1110884 Stanley Williams and John Edwin Loveland Dromana Certificate of Title Vol. 5564 Fol. 1112773 Stanley Williams and John Edwin Loveland Dromana Certificate of Title Vol. 8460 Fol. 401 Stanley Williams and John Edwin Loveland Eaglehawk Conveyance No. 344 Book 229 Ian Hamilton Kenneth Nixon, Andrew Henry Williamson, Ronald George Manning, John James Stewart and Frederick Hilton Burrows Eltham Certificate of Title Vol. 6883 Fol. 1376416 Johannes Jacobs Genger, Albert Lindsay Russell, Alister Samuel Knox Eltham Certificate of Title Vol. 8298 Fol. 145 Johannes Jacobs Genger, Albert Lindsay Russell, Alister Samuel Knox Ettrick Certificate of Title Vol. 3281 Fol. 656024 Edwin Ernest Field, Angus John Wyllie, William Rex Millard Ettrick Certificate of Title Vol. 2970 Fol. 593832 Edwin Ernest Field, Angus John Wyllie, William Rex Millard Flemington Certificate of Title Vol. 3375 Fol. 674829 Reginald Geoffrey Harding, John Stuart MacDougall and Edward Durham Eastham Flemington Certificate of Title Vol. 2582 Fol. 516204 Reginald Geoffrey Harding, John Stuart MacDougall and Edward Durham Eastham Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 23 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Flemington Certificate of Title Vol. 3017 Fol. 603379 Reginald Geoffrey Harding, John Stuart MacDougall and Edward Durham Eastham Footscray West Certificate of Title Vol. 4739 Fol. 947693 Henry William Holt, Margaret Jane Stewart and Russell Ernest Mayo Footscray West Certificate of Title Vol. 5783 Folio 1156582 Henry William Holt, Margaret Jane Stewart and Russell Ernest Mayo Footscray West Certificate of Title Vol. 7319 Fol. 1463654 Henry William Holt, Margaret Jane Stewart and Russell Ernest Mayo Franklinford Certificate of Title Vol. 832 Fol. 166301 William Strachan, William Franklin Dougall and John Robertson Gardenvale East Certificate of Title Vol. 8187 Fol. 641 William Henry Sargood, William Bowen, John Hills, Thomas Harper Floyd Gardenvale East Certificate of Title Vol. 4081 Folio 816153 William Henry Sargood, William Bowen, John Hills and Thomas Harper Floyd Geelong, Scots Certificate of Title Vol. 8311 Folio 481 Roy Hetherton, Maxwell James McKinlay, Mrs. Agnes Keys and Mrs. Dorothy Knight Geelong, Scots Certificate of Title Vol. 2671 Fol. 534087 Roy Hetherton, Maxwell James McKinlay, Mrs. Agnes Keys and Mrs. Dorothy Knight Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 24 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Geelong, Scots Certificate of Title Vol. 2841 Fol. 568154 Roy Hetherton, Maxwell James McKinlay, Mrs. Agnes Keys and Mrs. Dorothy Knight Geelong, North Shore Certificate of Title Vol. 8277 Fol. 876 Roger Hall Allan Thomas Wilson and George Allen Peter Hawker Geelong, St. Georges Certificate of Title Vol. 3299 Fol. 659786 James Archibald Ramage, Lynton George Hamilton and Franklin Robert Blair Geelong, North Conveyance No. 390 Book 543 David William Lawrie, Harold William Drayton, Donald James Finlay and Caleb Joseph Wilson Geelong, North Certificate of Title Vol. 5874 Fol. 117497 David William Lawrie, Harold William Drayton, Donald James Finlay, Caleb Joseph Wilson Girgarre East Certificate of Title Vol. 2331 Fol. 466148 Neil McLarty, Andrew Collie and Andrew Donaldson Gisborne Certificate of Title Vol. 8908 Fol. 784 Edward John Guy, George Scott and Ronald Webster Gisborne Certificate of Title Vol. 8908 Fol. 785 Edward John Guy, George Scott and Ronald Webster Gisborne Certificate of Title Vol. 8908 Fol. 790 Edward John Guy, George Scott and Ronald Webster Gisborne Certificate of Title Vol. 8908 Fol. 791 Edward John Guy, George Scott and Ronald Webster Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 25 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Gisborne Certificate of Title Vol. 2478 Fol. 495564 Edward John Guy, George Scott and Ronald Webster Gisborne Conveyance No. 646 Book 46 Edward John Guy, George Scott and Ronald Webster Gisborne Conveyance No. 352 Book 120 Edward John Guy, George Scott and Ronald Webster Gisborne Conveyance No. 60 Book 150 Edward John Guy, George Scott and Ronald Webster Hamilton Certificate of Title Vol. 2531 Fol. 506085 J. A. Black, R. Hunter, A. E. Menzel, W. V. Mason and L. Burgin Hamilton Certificate of Title Vol. 8169 Fol. 973 J. A. Black, R. Hunter, A. E. Menzel, W. V. Mason and L. Burgin Hawthorn Certificate of Title Vol. 3970 Fol. 793964 Allan Charles Neil, Brian Darnton Bayston, John Harold McCracken and Alfred George Miller Hawthorn Conveyance No. 594 Book 291 Allan Charles Neil, Brian Darnton Bayston, John Harold McCracken and Alfred George Miller Hawthorn Certificate of Title Vol. 4310 Fol. 861866 Allan Charles Neil, Brian Darnton Bayston, John Harold McCracken and Alfred George Miller Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 26 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Hawthorn Certificate of Title Vol. 2020 Fol. 403813 Allan Charles Neil, Brian Darnton Bayston, John Harold McCracken and Alfred George Miller Heathcote Conveyance No. 83 Book 124 Robert Joseph Glouston, Charles Harry Elsbury, Trevor Lewis Warkins, Allan Henry McDonald and Kenneth Lang Heathmont Certificate of Title Vol. 8074 Fol. 350 Arthur Kingsley Clark, John William Conboy, Alexander Ross Lawson, Richard John Martin and Jack Roberts Heathmont Certificate of Title Vol. 8325 Fol. 020 Arthur Kingsley Clark, John William Conboy, Alexander Ross Lawson, Richard John Martin and Jack Roberts Heathmont Certificate of Title Vol. 8325 Fol. 022 Arthur Kingsley Clark, John William Conboy, Alexander Ross Lawson, Richard John Martin and Jack Roberts Heathmont Certificate of Title Vol. 8325 Fol. 023 Arthur Kingsley Clark, John William Conboy, Alexander Ross Lawson, Richard John Martin and Jack Roberts Heathmont Certificate of Title Vol. 8756 Fol. 165 Arthur Kingsley Clark, John William Conboy, Alexander Ross Lawson, Richard John Martin and Jack Roberts Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 27 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees *Janefield Conveyance No. 653 Book 98 Hubert Percy Milton Graff, Lindsay David Williamson, Everard Charles Cardwell, James Nicholas Clements Kaniva Certificate of Title Vol. 2198 Fol. 439432 James Hugh Paterson, David Coutts, Malcolm McKenzie, Alfred Grundy and Thomas Richardson Kean Koroit Certificate of Title Vol. 1021 Fol. 204150 Archibald John Paton, George Archibald Walker, Charles Grant Warnock Lexton Conveyance No. 493 Book 402 Edward Rudolph Muller, Eric John Ball and Ivie Campbell McErvale Linton Certificate of Title Vol. 2413 Fol. 482486 Graeme McDonald and Colin Kerr Lismore Certificate of Title Vol. 691 Fol. 138192 David Ian Gibson, Alexander John Annesley Brett and Stanley Edmond Gleeson Little River Conveyance No. 585 Book 330 Ian Robert Richmond and Neil James Mailor's Flat Certificate of Title Vol. 3010 Fol. 601896 William Primmer, Henry McCosh, Rupert James Paton and Leslie Allen Harwood Malvern Certificate of Title Vol. 3117 Fol. 623384 Robert William Christie, Stuart Leigh Smith and Reginald Joseph Jackson Malvern Certificate of Title Vol. 3319 Fol. 663719 Robert William Christie, Stuart Leigh Smith and Reginald Joseph Jackson Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 28 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Malvern Certificate of Title Vol. 3573 Fol. 714567 Robert William Christie, Stuart Leigh Smith and Reginald Joseph Jackson Malvern Certificate of Title Vol. 2987 Fol. 597260 Robert William Christie, Stuart Leigh Smith and Reginald Joseph Jackson Malvern Certificate of Title Vol. 3775 Fol. 754935 Robert William Christie, Stuart Leigh Smith and Reginald Joseph Jackson Malvern Certificate of Title Vol. 5188 Fol. 1037452 Robert William Christie, Stuart Leigh Smith and Reginald Joseph Jackson Marong Certificate of Title Vol. 1871 Fol. 374163 Wootton John Lansell and George McLay Mernda Conveyance No. 319 Book 98 Hubert Percy Milton Graff, Lindsay David Williamson, James Nicholas Clements and Everard Frank Cardwell Moe Certificate of Title Vol. 8520 Fol. 042 William Alexander Purvis, John Forrest Corp and William Bathie Moe Crown Grant Vol. 2995 Fol. 841 William Alexander Purvis, John Forrest Corp and William Bathie Mordialloc Certificate of Title Vol. 7954 Fol. 081 Edna Dorothy Taylor, John Thomas Dickenson, Howarth Joseph Penning, William College Burdett and Donald James Wishart Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 29 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Mordialloc Certificate of Title Vol. 1828 Fol. 365498 Edna Dorothy Taylor, John Thomas Dickenson, Howarth Joseph Penning, William College Burdett and Donald James Wishart Morwell Certificate of Title Vol. 4617 Fol. 923344 Albert William Medew, Thomas Henry Sides and Robert Tolmie Porter Mount Evelyn Certificate of Title Vol. 5869 Fol. 1173781 John Koolmees Nagambie Certificate of Title Vol. 3286 Fol. 657122 Arthur Victor Jones and Fred Stirling Parris Nagambie Certificate of Title Vol. 1941 Fol. 388121 Arthur Victor Jones and Fred Stirling Parris Nelson Certificate of Title Vol. 3357 Fol. 671315 John Angus McEachern, John McIntyre Brown and Allan Francis Pascoe Vale North Certificate of Title Vol. 8071 Fol. 786 Charles Wemyss, Gordon Robert Barry, William Ernst Forster, George Towell and Robert Morgan Port Fairy Conveyance No. 942 Book 730 John Clancy, Kenneth William Knox, Colin Frances Crow and Russell William Clark Redesdale Certificate of Title Vol. 1179 Fol. 235759 Charles Machin William Poole, John McKenzie, Thomas Gibbard and Andrew McKenlay Reservoir Certificate of Title Vol. 6332 Fol. 1266334 George Henry Scott, Ronald Webster and Edward Guy Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 30 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Reservoir Certificate of Title Vol. 4334 Fol. 866649 George Henry Scott, Ronald Webster and Edward Guy Richmond Plains Certificate of Title Vol. 2622 Fol. 524311 Colin McRorie Lang, James Wickham Stuart, Geoffrey Peter Hilliard and William Niel Gould Rochester Certificate of Title Vol. 739 Fol. 147798 Herbert Ronald Westcott Rochester Certificate of Title Vol. 4758 Fol. 951489 John Johnstone, John Rae Bickley and Gordon Brough Watson Rochester Certificate of Title Vol. 3521 Fol. 704096 Herbert Ronald Westcott Russell's Bridge Certificate of Title Vol. 1010 Fol. 201813 Alan Charles Longmore, James Archibald Ramage, Colin Ernest Baker and Murray James Parker Scarsdale Certificate of Title Vol. 9103 Fol. 219 Keith Murdock McPherson, Phillip Ivan McLean and Leslie Edward Sheil Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 5935 Fol. 1186900 William Ridley McIntosh Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 7926 Fol. 109 William Ridley McIntosh Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 5453 Fol. 1090593 William Ridley McIntosh Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 6230 Fol. 1245971 William Ridley McIntosh Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 5646 Fol. 1129011 William Ridley McIntosh Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 31 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 5387 Fol. 1077386 William Ridley McIntosh Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 5659 Fol. 1131793 William Ridley McIntosh Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 6347 Fol. 1269388 William Ridley McIntosh Seymour Certificate of Title Vol. 2051 Fol. 410086 William Ridley McIntosh Skipton Conveyance No. 541 Book 216 Neville Peter Fraser, Percival George Nash and Vernon Stanley Smith Smeaton Certificate of Title Vol. 2477 Fol. 358 Alexander Archibald and William Isaac Toose Somerville Certificate of Title Vol. 8478 Fol. 353 Margaret Douglas Bond, Kenneth Maxwell Andrews and Leopold Fredrik Soderlund Somerville Certificate of Title Vol. 9353 Fol. 841 Margaret Douglas Bond, Kenneth Maxwell Andrews and Leopold Fredrik Soderlund South Yarra Certificate of Title Vol. 6347 Fol. 1269235 Thomas John Beresford George, Ernest John Pumpa, George Ross Hay and Thomas Remington Sutherland St. Kilda Conveyance No. 974 Book 128 Desmond Walter Palmer, Elizabeth Ann Logue, Sam George Cook and Ella Service St. Kilda Conveyance No. 232 Book 427 Desmond Walter Palmer, Elizabeth Ann Logue, Sam George Cook and Ella Service Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 32 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees St. Kilda Certificate of Title Vol. 2315 Fol. 948 Desmond Walter Palmer, Elizabeth Ann Logue, Sam George Cook and Ella Service St. Kilda Certificate of Title Vol. 4482 Fol. 896230 Desmond Walter Palmer, Elizabeth Ann Logue, Sam George Cook, Ella Service St. Kilda Certificate of Title Vol. 1397 Fol. 279359 Desmond Walter Palmer, Elizabeth Ann Logue, Sam George Cook and Ella Service Stockyard Hill Certificate of Title Vol. 2208 Fol. 441567 James Neville Kirkpatrick, John Kirkpatrick and Alan Hayes Sunshine Certificate of Title Vol. 8465 Fol. 235 William John Bell, Robert Ackland McDonald, Colin Leslie Phillips, Gilbert John Bell and John Alfred Pettifer Sunshine Certificate of Title Vol. 3437 Fol. 687333 William John Bell, Robert Ackland McDonald, Colin Leslie Phillips, Gilbert John Bell, John Alfred Pettifer Surrey Hills Certificate of Title Vol. 7018 Fol. 1403595 David Stuart Slater and Graham Edward Tassicker Surrey Hills Certificate of Title Vol. 3961 Fol. 792193 David Stuart Slater and Graham Edward Tassicker Surrey Hills Certificate of Title Vol. 2047 Fol. 409351 David Stuart Slater and Graham Edward Tassicker Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 33 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Surrey Hills Certificate of Title Vol. 5127 Fol. 309 David Stuart Slater and Graham Edward Tassicker Surrey Hills Certificate of Title Vol. 8112 Fol. 456 David Stuart Slater and Graham Edward Tassicker Sutherlands Creek Conveyance No. 416 Book 265 George Hope, Duncan McCallum Joseph Mayor Hale Tallygaroopna Certificate of Title Vol. 3346 Fol. 669025 Robert Keith Dudley, Henry Keith Humphrey's, George Stanley Kerr, Ronald William McPherson and Albert William Larson Tatura Certificate of Title Vol. 6008 Fol. 1201568 Edgar James Mitchell, William Harold Cheatley and James Burt Stewart Tatura Certificate of Title Vol. 3989 Fol. 769 Edgar James Mitchell, William Harold Cheatley, James Burt Stewart and Alan Graham Clapp Tatura Certificate of Title Vol. 1425 Fol. 284848 William Cross, Hill Chestnut, George Stewart, Charles Grover and Andrew Chambers Terang Certificate of Title Vol. 2773 Fol. 554473 Thomas Montgomery Bradshaw, Archie Bruce McCrabb, Ewen Daniel MacKinnon and David Edward Trickett The Sisters Certificate of Title Vol. 3570 Fol. 713809 John George Blain and William Gordon Attrill Torquay Certificate of Title Vol. 9335 Fol. 508 David Keith Pitcairn Miller Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 34 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Ultima Certificate of Title Vol. 3532 Fol. 706346 Allan William Biggs, Alexander John Canning, Eric Alexander Jones and Howard Keith Stanya Warrnambool Certificate of Title Vol. 5935 Fol. 1186976 Ian McDonald Taylor, David Roy McPhail, William Rex Fotherington and Leslie Stevens Warrnambool Certificate of Title Vol. 1538 Fol. 307590 Ian McDonald Taylor, David Roy McPhail, William Rex Fotherington and Leslie Stevens Warrnambool Certificate of Title Vol. 1440 Fol. 287985 Ian McDonald Taylor, David Roy McPhail, William Rex Fotherington and Leslie Stevens Warrnambool Certificate of Title Vol. 8772 Fol. 896 Ian McDonald Taylor, David Roy McPhail, William Rex Fotherington and Leslie Stevens Warrnambool Certificate of Title Vol. 635 Fol. 126834 Ian McDonald Taylor, David Roy McPhail, William Rex Fotherington and Leslie Stevens Williamstown Conveyance No. 520 Book 443 Donald Halden MacLeod, Lindsay George Caithness, Thomas Harold Leek and Alexander Allen Stewart Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 35 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Williamstown Certificate of Title Vol. 3247 Fol. 649358 Donald Halden MacLeod, Lindsay George Caithness, Thomas Harold Leek and Alexander Allen Stewart Williamstown Certificate of Title Vol. 3247 Fol. 649359 Donald Halden MacLeod, Lindsay George Caithness, Thomas Harold Leek and Alexander Allen Stewart Woodford Conveyance No. 304 Book 7 John Redmond, Robert Reid Crothers and William Henry Bligh Woodford Certificate of Title Vol. 1569 Fol. 313605 John Redmond, Robert Reid Crothers and William Henry Bligh Woodford Certificate of Title Vol. 2994 Fol. 598609 John Redmond, Robert Reid Crothers and William Henry Bligh Woolsthorpe Crown Grant Vol. 883 Fol. 176530 Francis Wilson Bennett, John Lindsay Douglas and Alan William Officer Yarram Certificate of Title Vol. 7788 Fol. 181 Wilfred Patrick Harrap, Phillip George William Hastings and Ronald Sydney Wight Yea Conveyance No. 934 Book 656 Colin Alexander McLeish, Norman Jones Hamilton and William Anderson Purcell Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 36 Column 1 Locality of Land Column 2 Nature of Title Column 3 Volume and Folio of Crown Grant or Certificate of Title respectively, or Number of Memorial and Book of Registration of Conveyance Column 4 Trustees Yea Certificate of Title Vol. 8177 Fol. 936 Colin Alexander McLeish, Norman Jones Hamilton and William Anderson Purcell PART C CROWN RESERVES Column 1 Column 2 Land Held by Trustees Darlington Government Gazette 1869, page 2010 Trustees: Hector Lamont, Gordon Robert Machonachie and Robert Jamieson Kilmore Order in Council—23.2.1863 Government Gazette—6.3.1863, page 535 Trustees: Walter Beresford Crawford, Ellen Elizabeth Evans, Daniel John Fleming, Christina Bernard McKenzie and Arthur George Pontbury Woolsthorpe Government Gazette—1869, page 1883 Trustees: Francis Wilson Bennet, John Lindsay Douglas and Alan William Officer Land Held by Trusts Corporation Anakie Order in Council—18.1.1864 Government Gazette—29.1.1864, page 209 Beveridge All that piece of land being allotment 17A in the town of Beveridge Parish of Merriang County of Bourke being Crown Reserve 5031 comprising 1 acre 2 roods 1 perch Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 37 Land Held by Trusts Corporation Carisbrooke Order in Council—10.8.1863 Government Gazette—19.8.1863, page 1823 Cudgee Government Gazette—1869, page 1922 Darlington Government Gazette—1869, page 2010 Donnybrook Order in Council—8.7.1853 Garvoc Government Gazette—1870, page 664 and 1870, page 2646 Hawkesdale Government Gazette—1870, page 664 Lexton Order in Council—27.12.1852 Lexton Order in Council—13.12.1856 Lismore Order in Council—16.11.1863 Government Gazette—4.12.1863, page 2720 Smythesdale Order in Council—3.8.1868 Government Gazette—11.8.1868, page 1470 Teesdale Order in Council—11.10.1854 Woodford Government Gazette—1861, page 287 and 1860, page 714 Wombat (Blanket Flat) Government Gazette—5.6.1866, page 1199

Sch. 1

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 38 SCHEDULE TWO TRANSACTIONS TO BE RATIFIED In this Schedule "Trusts Corporation" means the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation. Various Applications for Crown Grants in respect of Crown Reserve Sites reserved for Presbyterian Church purposes under the provisions of Act No. 391. Contract of Sale W. H. Peters and Ors. (Trustees) to K. and M. T. Fitzgerald; 13.8.1977; 27 Radovick Street, Korumburra. Contract of Sale Trusts Corporation to Mayor Councillors and Citizens of the City of Waverley; 7.12.1977; Ferntree Gully Road, Mulgrave (Part of Conveyance No. 277 Book 365). Conveyance in respect of the above matter. Contract of Sale Trusts Corporation to Third Aquatrice Pty. Ltd.; 22.12.1977; 11 Selborne Road, Toorak (Certificate of Title Volume 3477 Folio 224). Transfer in respect of the above matter. Conveyance (Book 773 No. 648) Trusts Corporation to Country Roads Board; Part of Crown Portion 85, Parish of Mulgrave. Creation of Easement Trusts Corporation to Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works re Certificate of Title Volume 8933 Folio 598. Discharge of Mortgage; 2.12.1979; Trusts Corporation to J. H. R. Freeman Pty. Limited. Lease Trusts Corporation to Kornblums Pty. Ltd.; 8.12.1978; 139 Chetwynd Street, North Melbourne. Transfer of Land Trusts Corporation to J. G. and L. J. Arthur of land contained in Certificate of Title Volume 8275 Folio 324. Transfer of Land Trusts Corporation to J. C. Knorr of land contained in Certificate of Title Volume 2718 Folio 410. Transfer of Land Trusts Corporation to T. and M. Mariani of land contained in Certificate of Title Volume 6296 Folio 056. Applications and Dealings Lodged in Office Of Titles Application No. 57451—Application by Trusts Corporation pursuant to Section 9 of the Transfer of Land Act 1958 in respect of part of Crown Portion 85, Parish of Mulgrave. Sch. 2

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 39 Applications by Trusts Corporation to have Plans of Subdivision 131626 and 131627 approved re the land contained in Certificate of Title Volume 3286 Folio 122. Application by Trusts Corporation to have Plan of Consolidation No. CP107755 approved re the land contained in Certificates of Title Volume 8907 Folio 316 and Volume 9245 Folio 005 and part of the land contained in Conveyance No. 277 Book 365. Application by Margaret D. Bond and others (Trustees) to have Plan of Consolidation No. CP109027 approved re Certificates of Title Volume 9107 Folios 915 and 916. Dealing No. G824627—Transfer Trusts Corporation to N. F. Edney of Lot 1 on Plan of Subdivision No. 122823 (Lot 2, balance of Crown Grant Volume 2894 Folio 670, retained by Trusts Corporation). Dealing No. G876064—Mortgage A. K. and G. H. Telgenhof to Trusts Corporation. Dealing No. G922073—Variation of Mortgage Nellor Investments Pty. Limited to Trusts Corporation. Dealing No. H58773—Discharge of Mortgage Trusts Corporation to B.W.D.R. Nominees Proprietary Limited and others. Dealing No. H58774—Mortgage B.W.D.R. Nominees Proprietary Limited to Trusts Corporation. Dealing No. H113050—Mortgage Trusts Corporation to C.B.C. Savings Bank Limited. Dealing No. H143415—Transfer of Land Ormidale Pty. Ltd. to Trusts Corporation of part of land contained in Certificate of Title Volume 8850 Folio 597. Dealing No. H263870—Transfer of Land E. Holland to Trusts Corporation of land contained in Certificates of Title Volume 9146 Folio 026 and Volume 9146 Folio 028. Dealing No. H449737—Variation of Mortgage Mattingley Court Pty. Ltd. to Trusts Corporation. Dealing No. H494458—Discharge as to Part of same Mortgage. Dealing No. H449738—Variation of Mortgage M. Bender and P. Bender to Trusts Corporation. Dealing No. H577031—Discharge of the above Mortgage. Dealing No. H459069—Discharge as to Part of Mortgage Trusts Corporation to D. G. Peace. Dealing No. H454026—Discharge as to Part of Mortgage (same parties as above). Sch. 2

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 40 Dealing No. H469850—Discharge as to Part of Mortgage (same parties as above). Dealing No. H484857—Discharge as to Part of Mortgage (same parties as above). Dealing No. H461494—Creation of Easement Trusts Corporation to The President Councillors and Ratepayers of the Shire of Sherbrooke re Certificate of Title Volume 6739 Folio 797. Dealing No. H561363—Transfer W. A. Pascoe, L. J. Drury and F. G. Sarah (Trustees) to Robert Ritchie (Sebastopol) Proprietary Limited of the land contained in Certificates of Title Volume 800 Folio 889 Volume 1325 Folio 949 Volume 1358 Folio 465 and Volume 5269 Folio 614. Dealing No. H541629—Discharge of Mortgage Trusts Corporation to Photogravures Proprietary Limited. Dealing No. H541631—Mortgage Photogravures Proprietary Limited to Trusts Corporation. Dealing No. H659345—Variation of Mortgage G. G. Block and R. C. Block to Trusts Corporation. Dealing No. H670426—Mortgage Trusts Corporation to The National Bank of Australasia Limited. Dealing No. H704422—Mortgage Apex Spring Works Pty. Ltd. to Trusts Corporation. Dealing No. H705305—Discharge of Mortgage Trusts Corporation to R. Arnold and B. I. Arnold. Dealing No. H707127—Discharge of Mortgage Trusts Corporation to Calcara Estates Proprietary Limited. Dealing No. H717154—Discharge of Mortgage Trusts Corporation to Segmar Nominees Pty. Ltd. Dealing No. H754959—Discharge of Mortgage Trusts Corporation to J. W. Curtin.

Sch. 2

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 41 SCHEDULE THREE TRUSTEES OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF VICTORIA TRUSTS CORPORATION Wilfred Rawlinson Hobbs Hector Lockhart Dunn Edward Ross Pearsons Russell Eves Robert Graham Hanna Frederick Henry Hooke Neil Malcolm O'Donnell Sir Arthur William Nicholson ═══════════════ Sch. 3

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 42 ENDNOTES

General Information The Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 was assented to on 20 December 1979 and came into operation on 22 June 1977: section 1(3). Endnotes

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 43 2. Table of Amendments There are no amendments made to the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 by Acts and subordinate instruments. Endnotes

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary DocumentsAct No. 9344/1979 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 44 3. Explanatory Details No entries at date of publication. Endnotes

1 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documentsi Version No. 001 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 Act No. 9344/1979 Version as at 3 March 2003 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Section Page

Short title, principal Act and commencement 3
Definitions 3
Interpretation 4
Property vested in The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) 4
Matters referred to in Schedule One 5
Division of Property 7
Transactions referred to in Schedule Two 8
Donations, gifts, dispositions, bequests of trust property real or personal 8
Trustees constituting Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation 9
Certain proceedings not to be affected by this Act 11
Act not to affect Scots' Church property 12

General Information 42
Table of Amendments 43
Explanatory Details 44

Trust vesting and divestment by statute. The Act operates primarily by divesting trustees of their pre-existing legal interest in property and simultaneously vesting interests in one of two statutorily identified recipients (The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) or the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation) or by providing directions for sale and apportionment of proceeds (s 4(1); s 6(1)). Where the Commission under Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 has decided that property is to be divided, the mechanism is to sell or realise the property and split net proceeds 75/25 (s 6(1)).

Deemed continuity and retrospective validation. The Act is expressly retrospective to 22 June 1977 (s 1(3)) and validates transactions, appointments and corporate acts performed in the transition period. Section 9(1) deems trustees in office immediately before 22 June 1977 to have continued lawfully; s 9(5) deems deeds, instruments, contracts and agreements made or executed between 22 June 1977 and the date of Royal Assent to have been validly made. Schedule Two lists specific transactions and dealings that are ratified by s 7.

Schedules as operational maps. Schedule One is operational rather than descriptive. Part A lists Crown Grants and Certificates of Title by volume and folio to be retained by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation; Part B lists localities and identifies the trustees who are to hold certain lands upon their previous trusts; Part C lists Crown reserves and indicates whether they are held by named trustees or by the Trusts Corporation. Schedule Two itemises individual transactions, easements, conveyances, mortgages, transfers and dealings that are retrospectively validated (Schedule One; Schedule Two).

Division through conversion, not partition. For property identified for division, the Act mandates sale of real property and calling in and conversion of personal property to money, and allocation of net proceeds (s 6(1)). The Act does not provide for physical partition or retention in specie by both recipients; it requires conversion and distribution of net proceeds once costs are paid.

Register amendment and Trustee appointments. The Register of Trustees required under section 21 of the Principal Act is to be amended to reflect Part B of Schedule One, and the amended Register is to be treated as the Register as at commencement (s 5(3)). The Act replaces the trustees constituted immediately before 22 June 1977 with the persons named in Schedule Three on Royal Assent day (s 9(2)), while retaining the Board’s rules and regulations until altered under the Principal Act (s 9(3)).

Carve-outs and preserved rights. The Act expressly limits its reach: property acquired on or after 22 June 1977 is excluded from the vesting/division provisions where specified (s 4(1), s 6(1)); schools and school property are excluded from the Act except for s 7 (s 2(2)); Scots’ Church property is excluded (s 11). Two court proceedings specifically enumerated in s 10 are to be decided as if the Act had not been enacted.

Dispute-resolution layering. Donor-intention disputes are channelled first to agreement between the Moderator of the Victorian Synod of the Uniting Church and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and in default to the Supreme Court (s 8(2)). Proceedings relating to acts between 22 June 1977 and Royal Assent for negligence, breach of duty or trust against boards or individuals are to be determined as if the Act had not been enacted (s 9(6)).

Interlocking statutory references. The Act operates in the statutory architecture created by The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 and the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971, with express cross-references and deeming clauses (s 3(2); s 4(1)-(2)). For property vested in the Uniting Church Property Trust by s 4(1), that vesting is deemed to have been pursuant to s 20(3) of the Uniting Church Act and the relevant subsections and sections of that Act are declared to extend and apply accordingly (s 4(2)).

Validation of specific dealings. Schedule Two lists particular contracts, transfers, mortgages, easements, applications and other dealings. Section 7 deems those transactions valid, which removes or reduces risk of challenge to those listed dealings performed in the transitional period.

The Act creates legal effects that are concentrated on a small set of institutional actors and diffuse across many property beneficiaries and donors. Specifically it affects:

The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria): the Act vests substantial pre-22 June 1977 Presbyterian property in that statutory trust subject to the Uniting Church Act (s 4(1)-(2)). For property that the Commission determined should be divided, the Uniting Church Property Trust is entitled to receive 75 per cent of net proceeds from sale or conversion (s 6(1)).
Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation (the Trusts Corporation): Schedule One Part A property is retained by the Trusts Corporation and remains subject to the Principal Act as amended (s 5(1)). For properties divided under s 6, the Trusts Corporation receives 25 per cent of net proceeds (s 6(1)). The Act also appoints a named set of trustees for the Trusts Corporation on Royal Assent (Schedule Three; s 9(2)).
Trustees and named individuals: persons constituting the Trusts Corporation immediately before 22 June 1977 are deemed to have lawfully continued as trustees and their acts between 22 June 1977 and Royal Assent are validated (s 9(1), s 9(5)); those persons are then removed from office on Royal Assent and replaced by Schedule Three appointees (s 9(2)). Section 9(4) bars actions against the persons referred to in s 9(1) for acts done in good faith for the Trusts Corporation.
Congregations, sessions, presbyteries, boards and committees: the Act treats property formerly held for these bodies as going either to the Uniting Church Property Trust, retained by the Trusts Corporation (per Schedule One) or to be converted and divided per the Commission’s determinations (s 4(1); s 5; s 6).
Donors, testators and beneficiaries: gifts, dispositions and bequests to or in trust for the Presbyterian Church of Victoria that vest or take effect on or after 22 June 1977 are preserved (s 8(1)). Where there is doubt about the beneficiary (Uniting Church or Presbyterian Church of Victoria), resolution is by agreement of the two Moderators or by the Supreme Court (s 8(2)).
Third parties to listed transactions: Schedule Two lists third parties to contracts, transfers, mortgages and other dealings (for example, purchasers, councils, banks and companies). Those third parties benefit from the statutory validation of the listed instruments under s 7.
Crown and land registries: the Act mandates amendments to the Register of Trustees (s 5(3)). Schedule One also identifies Crown Grants and Certificates of Title, and the Act’s operation will require registry action to reflect vestings, or to accept validated dealings that may have otherwise been questioned.
Schools and school property: subject to one important restriction, the Act does not extend or apply to any school or school property, except for s 7. Section 2(2) limits the Act’s general operation vis-à-vis schools; only s 7 (validation of transactions in Schedule Two) may affect schools if Schedule Two contains relevant items.
Scots’ Church trustees and property: the Act explicitly does not apply to the Scots Church Properties Act 1891 or property vested under that trust deed (s 11), so those trustees and properties are unaffected.

Who pays and who decides. Costs of sale, calling in or conversion are to be paid out of proceeds before the 75/25 apportionment, so transaction and realisation costs reduce the distributable sums to both recipients (s 6(1): "after payment of costs"). Decisions about division of particular property are those of the Commission established under Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971, and the trustees of the two statutorily identified entities are required and authorised to give effect to those determinations (s 6(1)-(2)). In donor disputes, the Moderators may decide by agreement; absent agreement, the Supreme Court decides (s 8(2)).

Concentrated beneficiaries and dispersed stakeholders. The Act concentrates formal legal ownership or distributions in two institutional entities and a named group of trustees while affecting many congregations, donors and third-party contracting counterparties across the lists in Schedules One and Two. The named appointments of trustees in Schedule Three concentrate decision-making authority in a small group (Schedule Three; s 9(2)).

Duties imposed on trustees and trusts

Duty to vest and hold as directed by statute: property specified in Schedule One Part A is to be retained by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation and remain subject to the Principal Act as amended (s 5(1)). Property specified in Part B is vested in the trustees named in column 4 of Part B on the same trusts as before (s 5(2)). The land in Part C is to be deemed always reserved for the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and Act No. 391 applies accordingly (s 5(4)).
Duty to sell and convert: for property determined by the Commission to be divided, real property (including chattels real) must be held on trust to sell (s 6(1)(a)) and personal property must be called in, sold and converted into money (s 6(1)(b)). Trustees must effect these processes.
Duty to distribute net proceeds according to statutory percentages: after payment of costs, 75 per cent of net proceeds from sale or conversion must be paid to The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) and 25 per cent to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation (s 6(1)).
Duty to do everything necessary to give effect to Commission determinations: the Trusts Corporation and the Uniting Church Property Trust are "authorised and required to do everything necessary" to implement the division determinations (s 6(2)). This is an express statutory duty to take acts required to implement the division.
Duty to amend Registers: the Register of Trustees kept under section 21 of the Principal Act must be amended to accord with Part B of Schedule One and is to be taken to be the Register as at commencement (s 5(3)).

Rights and protections granted

Right to receive statutory vestings and proceeds: The Uniting Church Property Trust receives statutory vesting of identified property (s 4(1)-(2)) and 75 per cent of net proceeds for divided property (s 6(1)). The Trusts Corporation retains Part A property and receives 25 per cent of net proceeds (s 5(1); s 6(1)).
Validation of prior acts and instruments: deeds, instruments, contracts and agreements executed by the Trusts Corporation or persons acting for it between 22 June 1977 and Royal Assent are deemed valid (s 9(5)); listed transactions in Schedule Two are validated by s 7.
Limited immunity for former trustees: persons who were trustees immediately before 22 June 1977 are protected against actions for things done in good faith for or in relation to the Trusts Corporation (s 9(4)). This provides a statutory shield for transitional activity, conditioned on good faith.
Preservation of donor gifts: gifts, dispositions and bequests to or in trust for the Presbyterian Church of Victoria that vest or take effect on or after 22 June 1977 do not fail because of the union or this Act (s 8(1)). Donor intentions are therefore preserved as a matter of statutory effect.
Right to judicial resolution: where disputes arise about whether property should be held for the Uniting Church or the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, parties can seek agreement between the two Moderators or bring the matter to the Supreme Court (s 8(2)). This provides a clear route for contested trusts or ambiguous instruments.

Limits and preserved liabilities

Preservation of certain proceedings: the Act does not extinguish two named Supreme Court proceedings referenced in s 10; those proceedings are to be determined as if the Act had not been enacted (s 10). Similarly, proceedings in relation to negligent or defaulting acts between 22 June 1977 and Royal Assent against a board, council or committee of the General Assembly of the Church are to be determined as if the Act had not been enacted (s 9(6)).
Exclusions: the Act does not apply to schools or school property except for s 7 (s 2(2)), and it does not affect Scots’ Church property or the powers of the Scots’ Church trustees (s 11). Parties dealing with school property must therefore treat the main vesting and division rules as not applicable (except where s 7 validates a listed transaction).

Practical consequence of the "after payment of costs" provision. Section 6(1) expressly directs that the 75/25 split is to be of "net proceeds" after payment of costs. The mechanism allocates the burden of transaction costs to the pool from which both recipients' shares are derived, reducing the distributable amounts proportionally. Trustees therefore have a statutory duty to effect sales and conversions but the parties receiving proceeds bear the economic cost through reduced distributions.

Validation of specific prior acts and instruments. Section 7 and Schedule Two provide certainty to the parties listed in that schedule. For third-party counterparties to transactions listed in Schedule Two (purchasers, councils, banks, lessees), the Act converts potentially disputed or conditional title events in the transition period into statutorily validated instruments.

No express penal regime. The Act does not create criminal offences, administrative fines or express penalties for non-compliance within the body of the statute as provided. Enforcement is primarily structural and civil:

Vesting by statute: where the Act vests property in a statutory trust (s 4(1)) or directs sale and distribution (s 6(1)), the primary enforcement mechanism is the statutory change of legal title and the related obligations on trustees to execute the directions. Statutory vesting bypasses private title arrangements to the extent expressed in the Act.
Court enforcement and dispute resolution: where disputes arise about the correct trust or the application of donor gifts the Act provides for resolution through agreement of Moderators or, failing agreement, the Supreme Court (s 8(2)). The Supreme Court thus remains the enforcement forum for contested trust matters and for actions preserved by s 9(6) and s 10.
Protective deeming and judicial review boundaries: s 9(5) and s 7 validate acts and transactions. That reduces the legal grounds on which third parties might otherwise challenge these acts, but the Act does not preclude judicial review where jurisdictional or processal legal errors occur in circumstances not covered by the deeming provisions; the Act preserves certain actions by deeming them to proceed "as if this Act had not been enacted" (s 9(6); s 10).
Liability preserved for certain periods: s 9(6) preserves the ability to pursue proceedings for negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust against a board or member, or employee for acts occurring after 22 June 1977 and before Royal Assent, "as if this Act had not been enacted". This provides claimants an intact cause of action despite the validation provisions.
No specific regulatory penalties for failure to sell or distribute: the Act requires trustees to do everything necessary to give effect to the Commission's determinations (s 6(2)), but it does not create a statutory penalty regime for failure to do so. Enforcement would therefore be by civil process (remedies including specific performance, injunctions or declarations in the Supreme Court) rather than by express penal sanction in the Act.

Practical enforcement mechanics. In practice, enforcement will occur through property law mechanisms (registration, transfers, discharge and creation of mortgages and easements) and equity (trustee duties). The deeming effects in s 7 and s 9(5) reduce the risk of title-based litigation for the listed transactions and trustees’ acts. Where trustees fail to effect sales or distributions required by s 6, aggrieved parties (the statutory trusts or beneficiaries) are likely to seek relief in equity via the Supreme Court, invoking the statutory duties created by the Act.

Specific preserved proceedings. Section 10 names two Supreme Court matters that are not affected by the Act and must be decided as if the Act had not been enacted. Section 9(6) similarly preserves judicial remedies for acts between 22 June 1977 and Royal Assent. These preserved proceedings amount to direct lines of enforcement that operate outside the Act’s validation and indemnity mechanisms.

Interlocking with The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 and Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971. The Act is intentionally framed to operate in concert with those Acts. Section 3(2) requires that the Principal Act (Presbyterian Trusts Act 1890) be read "subject to The Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 and the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971", and s 4(2) deems the vesting effected by s 4(1) to have been pursuant to s 20(3) of the Uniting Church Act and brings parts of that Act into play,subsections (4), (5), (6) and (7) of s 20 and ss 22-24 of the Uniting Church Act shall extend and apply accordingly (s 4(2)). The Act therefore proceeds by referring into the Uniting Church Act for content and consequences of the vesting.

Effect on the Principal Act and the Register of Trustees. The Act amends the interpretive provisions in s 2 of the Principal Act by substituting the definition of "Church" (s 3(1)); it also requires the Register of Trustees kept under s 21 of the Principal Act to be amended in accordance with Part B of Schedule One and treats the amended Register as the Register at commencement (s 5(3)). The Act thus operates as an overlay to the Principal Act, modifying its interpretive and administrative content for the post-union landscape.

Transfer of Land Act and land title operations. Schedule One and Schedule Two include Certificates of Title, Crown Grants, conveyances, registered mortgages and listed dealings (Schedules One and Two). Many entries reference the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (the schedule identifies certain registered mortgages under that Act). The validation and vesting provisions will therefore interact with land registration processes under that Act; the trustees and title offices will act to give effect to statutory vestings, to lodge registrable instruments, and to process validated dealings that were lodged or executed in the transitional period.

Act No. 391 and Crown reserves. Section 5(4) applies Act No. 391 ("An Act to provide for the abolition of State aid to religion") to land reserved for church purposes listed in Part C of Schedule One, deeming that land "to have always been reserved for the purposes of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria" and applying Act No. 391 accordingly. That places the Crown reserve items within the governance framework created by earlier statutes dealing with Crown reserves and their religious use.

Scots' Church Properties Act 1891. Section 11 states the Act does not apply to or affect the operation of the Scots Church Properties Act 1891 or the powers and duties of trustees under the Scots' Church trust deed. Scots’ Church property remains governed by that separate historic statutory regime.

Existing litigation and preserved proceedings. The Act preserves two specific Supreme Court matters, which are to proceed unaffected by the Act (s 10). It also preserves proceedings arising from the transition period in which negligence or breach of trust is alleged against certain trustees or committees (s 9(6)). Those preserved proceedings will be decided according to existing common law and equitable principles, as if the Act had not been passed.

Regulation and internal Church rules. Section 9(3) declares that the rules and regulations of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria shall continue to be the rules of the General Assembly as defined in the Principal Act until altered under the Principal Act. The Act therefore maintains a regime for ecclesiastical governance within the legal framework of the Principal Act.

No amendments noted. The endnotes to the version supplied note that there are no amendments recorded to the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 by later Acts or subordinate instruments, and explanatory details had no entries as at the date of publication (Endnotes 2-3). That indicates a fixed statutory text for the matters described above in this version.

The version provided includes the Act as enacted and recorded up to 3 March 2003. The Endnotes in the printed version record:

Date of assent and retrospective commencement: the Act was assented to on 20 December 1979 and is deemed to have come into operation on 22 June 1977 (s 1(3); Endnotes 1).
No subsequent amendments recorded: the endnotes' Table of Amendments states that there are no amendments made to the Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979 by Acts and subordinate instruments as recorded in the publication (Endnotes 2).
No explanatory entries: the explanatory details section had no entries at date of publication (Endnotes 3).

What this means for legal practice and record-keeping. The lack of amendments recorded in the official endnotes indicates that the statutory text as printed (including the Schedules and the appointment list in Schedule Three) remains the operative statutory law for the matters in question in the published version. Practitioners should nonetheless check for any legislative or regulatory change occurring after the date of the version quoted (3 March 2003) by consulting current consolidated legislation databases or the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office to ensure no later amendments, repeals or consequential changes. The printed endnotes themselves identify the commencement and indicate no recorded subsequent statutory change in the published snapshot.

Practical note on retroactivity and royal assent. The Act’s retroactive operation to a date more than two years before its assent (22 June 1977 versus Royal Assent 20 December 1979) is explicitly declared in s 1(3). The transitional provisions in s 9 validate actions during the period between the union and the date of Royal Assent. The replacement of trustees on the day of Royal Assent (s 9(2)) is a discrete statutory event that followed the validation of their actions during the interim (s 9(1), s 9(5)).

Schedules as operative elements. The Schedules are not ancillary matter: Schedule One (Parts A, B, C) identifies specific lands and trustees; Schedule Two lists transactions to be ratified; Schedule Three names trustees appointed on Royal Assent. Any future amendment that sought to alter the identity of particular parcels or the list of validated transactions would need to amend the Schedules, a legislative action. As no amendments were recorded in the endnotes, these Schedules remain the authoritative lists in the published version.

The Act itself preserves and refers to litigation; it does not, in the text provided, report decided cases interpreting the Act. The Act sets out two explicit litigation-preservation provisions:

Preservation of two named Supreme Court proceedings: Section 10 states that nothing in the Act shall affect the proceedings in the cases Attorney-General for the State of Victoria (at the relation of Old Scotch Collegians Association) v Kenneth Robert Handley & Others and Attorney-General for the State of Victoria (at the relation of John Thompson MacMillan) v Kenneth Robert Handley & Others, issued out of the Supreme Court of Victoria and intituled 1977 No. 3271 and 1977 No. 3272 respectively. Those cases are to be determined as if the Act had not been enacted (s 10).
Preservation of actions for negligence, default, breach of duty or trust occurring in the interim: Section 9(6) provides that proceedings in relation to any act, matter or thing arising or occurring after 22 June 1977 and before Royal Assent for negligence, default, breach of duty or trust against the General Assembly boards, councils or committees or members employed by or on behalf of the General Assembly shall be determined as if this Act had not been enacted.

Interpretive consequence. The Act itself thus recognises that litigation was pending and that other causes of action existed arising from the transition. The preservation clauses are procedural and substantive insofar as they prevent the Act’s validation provisions from foreclosing those actions. The Act does not provide case law in this printed version as to how courts subsequently interpreted its provisions; the Act simply preserves litigative routes.

What a researcher should do. To assemble a litigation history for the Act’s provisions, researchers should:

Search Victorian Supreme Court records for the two named proceedings (1977 No. 3271 and 1977 No. 3272) referenced in s 10 to identify dispositions, judgments or orders.
Search for later reported decisions in Victoria or appellate courts that consider the Act’s vesting, validation or division provisions, or disputes arising from application of s 6 (sale/conversion/distribution) or s 8 (donor disputes) or s 9 (trustee immunity and validation).
Examine any chancery/equity decisions where relief was sought for failure to sell/convert or to comply with the Commission’s determinations, or to enforce distribution obligations under s 6.
Review land title registry dealings and possible challenges to Schedule Two validated dealings in the Transfer of Land Act registrar records.

Limitations of the provided text. The version supplied gives no entries in the Explanatory Details and records no post-enactment amendments (Endnotes 2-3). It does not include reported decisions that would be part of a litigation history. The Act’s text therefore only signals litigation that was then pending and preserves causes of action; to obtain a litigation history beyond that, the researcher must consult court records and law reports.

Retroactivity and timing traps. The Act is expressly retrospective to 22 June 1977 (s 1(3)). That means acts done in the transition period were intended to be validated (s 9(5)), but also that certain proceedings for acts done in that period are preserved and proceed "as if the Act had not been enacted" (s 9(6)). A practitioner should note the dual effect: validation for many acts, preservation of liability for others. Do not assume blanket immunisation for trustees or committees acting in the interim.

Costs deducted before distribution. Section 6(1) requires that the distribution of proceeds be of the "net proceeds" after payment of costs. That allocates transaction, sale and conversion costs to the distributable pool. Practically, trustees, beneficiaries and potential purchasers must account for these costs; it reduces distributions and therefore both recipients share the cost burden indirectly. The Act does not fix which party pays up front; it directs costs be paid prior to apportionment (s 6(1)).

School property exclusion subject to one exception. Section 2(2) states, "Nothing in this Act except section 7 shall extend or apply to or in relation to any school or school property." That is a narrow but crucial point: s 7 (validation of Schedule Two transactions) is the only section that may touch school property. Accordingly, if Schedule Two contains items concerning school property, those are validated; otherwise schools and school property generally fall outside the Act’s operations. Practice point: do not treat school parcels in Schedule One or Two as automatically within the Act unless Schedule Two or a specific clause applies.

Specific validation of listed transactions only. Section 7 deems "the transactions referred to in Schedule Two and the instruments referred to therein" valid. That statutory validation is limited to the items that are actually listed. Do not assume that unlisted transactions performed during the transitional period enjoy the same statutory validation. If a transaction is not in Schedule Two, ordinary property and trust law governs and may require different remedies.

Narrow indemnity for trustees, but not absolute. Section 9(4) bars actions against persons referred to in s 9(1) "for anything done in good faith". The immunity is conditional on good faith. Meanwhile s 9(6) leaves actions for negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust intact for acts between 22 June 1977 and Royal Assent. Do not assume immunity for all acts merely because s 9(4) exists.

Register changes deemed but need practical follow-through. Section 5(3) deems the amended Register of Trustees as the Register at commencement, but registries, land offices and third parties may require formal entries, endorsements or lodgement of instruments to reflect statutory vesting, transfers and validated transactions. The Act’s deeming clause achieves legal effect but practical title records may need updating to reflect that effect.

Scots' Church excluded. Section 11 carves out Scots’ Church property entirely, so be careful not to attempt to apply the Act to any Scots’ Church holdings or trust structures. The Act expressly does not affect the Scots Church Properties Act 1891 or the trustees appointed under the Scots’ Church trust deed.

Commission determinations govern division. The Act does not itself list every parcel for division; it relies on determinations by the Commission constituted under the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 (Part III). The Commission's determinations as to which property is to be divided drive the application of s 6. Practically, assess whether a given parcel was subject to a Commission decision before proceeding under the s 6 mechanics.

Validation does not equal perfection. Even where a transaction is validated under s 7 or s 9(5), that validation does not spell out the mechanics of completion for every registrable act (for example, registration of transfers, mortgages, easements). Title-offices, banks and councils may still require production of instruments, searches and standard formalities when giving effect to the validated instruments. The Act deems validity but registries will act in accordance with their own statutory and procedural requirements.

Limited textual scope on schools and educational institutions. Although the definitions in s 2(1) include an enumerated list of "school" names, s 2(2) immediately limits almost all of the Act’s provisions from applying to schools except for s 7. That is a potential trap if practitioners assume school property is covered by Schedule One or the 75/25 scheme; the express textual limitation displaces that.

For trustees and the two statutory trusts

Identify status of the property.
- Check whether the property appears in Schedule One Parts A, B or C. If in Part A, the property is to be retained by the Trusts Corporation (s 5(1)). If in Part B, note the named trustees set out in column 4 who hold it on the same trusts as before (s 5(2)). If in Part C, verify the Crown reserve listing and the trustees identified (s 5(4); Schedule One).
- Check whether the Commission under Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 determined the property to be divided; if so, s 6 applies and the property must be sold or the personal property called in and converted (s 6(1)).
Implement sale/conversion where required by s 6.
- For real property covered by a Commission determination, prepare the property for sale and execute a sale so that net proceeds after costs are realised. The Act directs that "real property (including chattels real) [be] upon trust to sell" (s 6(1)(a)).
- For personal property covered by a Commission determination, call in, sell and convert the assets into money before apportionment (s 6(1)(b)).
- Costs of sale or conversion must be paid out of proceeds before distribution; document costs carefully as they reduce the distributable pool (s 6(1)).
Account and distribute proceeds per statutory formula.
- After sale/conversion and payment of costs, allocate 75 per cent of net proceeds to The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) and 25 per cent to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts Corporation (s 6(1)). Obtain clear accounting and documentation of costs and net proceeds; preserve records for potential judicial scrutiny or audit.
Execute necessary registrable instruments.
- Lodge transfers, discharge and creation of mortgages, easements and other instruments with the Titles Office as required. Schedule Two identifies many dealings already, and s 7 validates them, but registrable steps may still be needed to cleanly reflect the changed legal positions at the land registry. Work with conveyancers and registries to confirm formal requirements.
Amend and maintain the Register of Trustees.
- Update the Register of Trustees required under the Principal Act as required by s 5(3). Treat the amended Register as the Register at commencement and ensure ongoing compliance with the Principal Act’s obligations for maintenances of records.

For donor, beneficiary and interested parties

Verify instrument language and effective date.
- If you are a donor, beneficiary or executor of a will whose instrument vests or takes effect on or after 22 June 1977 and involves a gift to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, note that s 8(1) preserves such gifts from failing because of the union or this Act. If there is ambiguity about whether a gift was intended for the Uniting Church or the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, proceed with mediation between the two Moderators or prepare to litigate in the Supreme Court (s 8(2)).
Use the dispute resolution route provided.
- The Act channels disputes about whether property should be held on trusts for the Uniting Church or the Presbyterian Church of Victoria to agreement by the two Moderators; failing agreement, apply to the Supreme Court (s 8(2)). Document attempts to achieve Moderator agreement; courts will expect proof of attempts at internal resolution.

For people dealing with school property

Note the narrow application to schools.
- Section 2(2) excludes schools and school property from the Act except for s 7. Check whether your school is named in the statutory definition of "school" in s 2(1). If a transaction affecting school property appears in Schedule Two, s 7 may validate that transaction; otherwise the Act’s vesting and division rules do not apply.

For third parties to transactions

Rely on statutory validation where Schedule Two applies, but confirm registrability.
- If you are a purchaser, mortgagee or other counterparty listed in Schedule Two, s 7 provides statutory validation of the listed transaction. Nonetheless, work with title offices and legal counsel to ensure registrable steps, clearances and discharges are properly processed in accordance with the Transfer of Land Act and local practice.

Practical compliance checklist for trustees and counsel

Confirm whether the property was acquired before 22 June 1977; the Act excludes property acquired on or after that date from many of its vesting rules (s 4(1); s 6(1)).
Check the Commission’s determinations under Part III of the Schedule to the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 as to which properties are to be divided.
Undertake valuations and prepare properties for sale; keep records and receipts for costs to support the "net proceeds" accounting required by s 6(1).
Obtain legal and conveyancing input for each sale, transfer, mortgage or easement; even where s 7 validates specific transactions, regisry formalities remain crucial.
Maintain clear financial accounts for the receipt and distribution of proceeds, and produce them on request to the other statutory trust or in any court proceedings.
For disputed gifts or ambiguous instruments, attempt resolution by agreement of Moderators before invoking the Supreme Court route (s 8(2)).
Where litigation is pending or foreseeable arising from the transition period, note the Act’s preservation clauses (s 9(6); s 10) and ensure compliance with those preserved rights and liabilities.
When contemplating reliance on the immunity in s 9(4), ensure that acts were done in good faith and document the basis of good faith decision-making.

Final administrative point. Although the Act validates many transitional instruments and provides structural duties, trustees and recipients should maintain contemporaneous records of valuations, sale processes, payments of costs and accounting entries to evidence compliance with s 6(1) and the statutory duty to "do everything necessary" under s 6(2). Where in doubt, obtain declaratory relief from the Supreme Court to confirm entitlements or obligations rather than relying solely on the statute’s deeming provisions.

Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979

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Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979

Source text: opening excerpt

1 Presbyterian Trusts Act 1979

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