AGY-4110 | Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees [II]

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Background
The Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees [I] was established under s. 18A (2) of the Necropolis Act 1901 (No.20, 1902). The Committee was created to manage the infrastructure of the cemetery established in 1867, and known as the Rookwood Necropolis. (1)

The Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees [II]
The Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees [II] was reconstituted as a statutory corporation by the Necropolis (Amendment) Act 1986 (Act No.145, 1986). (2) The Act was assented on 17 December 1986, and proclaimed on 1 April 1988. (3) The Committee was to consist of a member nominated by each body of Trustees, and four Members nominated by the Minister. (4) The Committee was appointed commencing on 1 April 1988 for a term of 5 years. The Committee members consisted of the following: Roger E. Tucker, Anglican Cemetery, John F. Donovan, Independent Cemetery, John C. Ryan, General Cemetery, Richard J. W. d’Apice, Catholic Cemetery, Rex M. Mickan, Lutheran Cemetery, Shya Rdelman, Jewish Cemetery, Siddiq Buckley, Muslim Cemetery. The ex-officio appointments nominated by the Minister were Executive Officer, Metropolitan Lands Office, Department of Lands, The National Trust (New South Wales), The Heritage Council of New South Wales, and New South Wales Cremation Co. Pty Ltd. (5)

The main function of the committee was to construct, care for, control and maintain fences, roads, paths, drains, plantings, and other necessary with the Rookwood Necropolis. (6) The control and management of land within the Necropolis however, continued to reside in the denominational trust that had been appointed over it. (7) The Committee was also required to prepare plans of management with respect to the management of the whole of the land of the Necropolis. (8) The Committee was also required to provide reports on its activities as required to the Minister. (9)

The committee could make an assessment of the amount required for the annual maintenance budget, and with the approval of the minister levy each body of trustees for a proportion of the annual budget based on each body of trustees previous years income. (10) Additional funding to the Joint Committee occurred through rent paid by the Crematorium. (11) The Committee was now able to given financial assistance to Trustees for purposes directed by the Committee. Funds for this financial assistance were not to be drawn from funds obtained from Trustees. (12) The Committee could also enter into agreements with Trustees for the provision of services such as grass cutting, thus allowing centralisation of services. (13)

Under the Necropolis (Amendment) Act 1986 the declared land known as the Necropolis was defined as Crown Land under the s.24 of the Crown Lands Consolidation Act 1913 (Act No.7, 1913). (14) Trustees of Necropolis land were also to be appointed under Part B of the Crown Lands Consolidation Act. (15)

In 1990 the Crown Lands Act 1989 (Act No.6, 1989) was enacted and repealed the Crown Lands Consolidation Act. (16) The Act re-appointed trustees bodies (including the Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees) appointed under the previous legislation as Reserves Trusts. Reserve Trusts were to be administered by a corporation or a trust Board. (17)

The 1991 Necropolis regulations gazetted on 30 August 1991, specified that the Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees was to be a relevant trust of all remaining parts of land in the Necropolis, which was not administered by another reserve trust. (18) The regulations also specified that the levy payable by the Trusts (the approved amount) to the Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees be based on each trusts burials and cremations for the previous year. (19) A number of bodies were established to assist the Joint Committee to respond to specific issues. These included: the Services Subcommittee, the Finance Subcommittee, the Property Management Plan Subcommittee, and the Plan of Management Subcommittee. (20) The Plan of Management Subcommittee was formed to develop principles and objectives for the operation of the Necropolis. A plan of management was required by s.20D of the Necropolis Act 1901 (Act No.20, 1902). The Subcommittee appears to have been abolished after plan was completed in 1993. (21)

The location of remnant Bushland in the Necropolis required the drafting of a Property Management Plan in order to comply with the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (Act No.101, 1995). The Property Management Plan Subcommittee was formed to consider the implications of the plan for management systems, and cemetery operations. The Subcommittee appears to have been abolished after the Property Management Plan was completed in 2002. (22)

The Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees [II] abolished
The Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees [II] which had been constituted under the 1901 Act was abolished by amendments made by the Rookwood Necropolis Repeal Act 2009 (Act No.42, 2009) to the Crown Lands Act 1989 (Act No.6, 1989) with effect from 1 July 2009. Section 52 abolished both the Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees and the old Rookwood Necropolis Trust which had been established under section 92 (1) by notification published in NSW Gazette No.73, 15 May 2009, p.2244. The successor to the Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees [II] was the new Rookwood Necropolis Trust. (23)

Endnotes
1. Weston, D (Ed.) The Sleeping City: the Story of the Rookwood Necropolis, Society of Australian Genealogists in conjunction with Hale & Iremonger, Sydney, 1989, p. 9 – 15.
2. Necropolis (Amendment) Act 1986 Schedule 2 s.11. New s.20 (1) – (7) of Principal Act.
3. NSW Government Gazette, 18 March 1988 p.1809.
4. Necropolis Act 1901, s. 20 (5) (a), and (b).
5. NSW Government Gazette, 31 March 1988, p.2084.
6. Necropolis Act 1901, s.20A (1).
7. Ibid. s.11.
8. Ibid. s.20D (1) – (3).
9. Ibid. s.20F.
10. Ibid s.20B (1) – (4).
11. Ibid. s.8B (e).
12. Ibid. s.20E (1) – (2).
13. Ibid s. 20C (1) – (3).
14. Necropolis (Amendment) Act 1986 (Act No.145, 1986) Schedule 2 s3. New s.7A of Principal Act.
15. Ibid. Schedule 2 s10. New s.14 of Principal Act.
16. NSW Government Gazette, 20 April 1990, p.3196.
17. Crown Lands Act 1989, ss.92-95, and Schedule 8 s.4, 5, and 5a.
18. Necropolis Regulations 1991 No.145 s.4 (a) and (b) in NSW Government Gazette, 30 August 1991, pp.7373 – 7378.
19. Ibid. Part Four s.16.
20. Administrative History of the Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees, unpublished, n.d., p.3 from State Records (NSW) File 04/0350.
21. Loc. Cit.
22. Loc. Cit.
23. Rookwood Necropolis Repeal Act 2009 (Act No.42, 2009) Schedule 1 adding Part 6 (ss. 51-57) to the Crown Lands Act 1989 (Act No.6, 1989); Commencement Proclamation under the Rookwood Necropolis Repeal Act 2009 (2009 No 306) NSW Legislation Website, 1 July 2009.

References
(1) Government Directories 1988 – 1999
(2) Joint Committee of Necropolis Trustees submission to The Inquiry into the Definition of Charities and Related Organisations, Canberra, 14 December 2000 from the Charities Definition Inquiry Website http://www.cdi.gov.au/submissions/20-JointCommitteeNecropolisTrustees.doc, accessed 25 October 2004.