AGY-4850 | Hunter Valley Conservation Trust

Full description

The Hunter Valley Conservation Trust was established by the Hunter Valley Conservation Trust Act (No.34, 1950). The Trust consisted of fourteen trustees as follows :
one appointed on the nomination of the Minister to which the Trust reported; one on the nomination of the Minister for Public Works; one on the nomination of the Minister of Agriculture; a Commisisoner of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission; the Commisisoner or Assistant Commissioner of the Forestry Commission of New South Wales or a staff member to represent the Commission; the Commisioner of the Soil Conservation Service or a staff members selected to represent the Commissioner; a representative of the aldermen of the City of Maitland; two representatives of the local government areas in the Hunter Valley other than the City of Maitland; five trustees appointed by the Minister from panels of nominations submitted by any body or association recorginsed by the Minister as representative of the rural landowners within the Trust district. (1)

The Trust was a corporate body with perpetual succession and a common seal that could sue or be sued in its corporate name and in order to carry out its responsibilities could acquire, own or dispose of real or personal property (2)

The role of the Trust was to report to the Minister and make recommendations in relation to
the nature, location, form or extent of any work or proposed work for the purpose of soil conservation, afforestation, reafforestation, flood mitigation, water conservation, irrigation or river improvement in the Trust District;
the time of commencement and order and rate of construction of any such works and the priority of any work in the Trust district;
any other matter that the Trust considere expedient;
any matters that the Minister refers to the Trust.
The Trust was also required to submit an annual report to the Minister on its activities for the year. (3)

The Hunter Valley Conservation met for the first time on 13 December 1950.

The Hunter Valley Conservation Trust (Amendment) Act 1966 (Act No. 59, 1966) enabled the Trust of borrow money (4)
The The Hunter Valley Conservation Trust (Amendment) Act 1967 (Act No. 38, 1967) altered the consistution of the Trust by strengthening the local government representatives and therefore increasing the number of Trustees to 18. Two representatives of the aldermen of the City Of Newcastle were added and the number of representatives for local government areas other than Newcastle or Maitland was increased from two to four. (5) The same act expanded the District for which the Trust was responsible. (6) The boundaries were altered again by the Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation and Hunter Vallley Conservation Trust (Amendment) Act, 1968 (Act No. 52, 1968)

The Hunter Valley Conservation Trust Act, 1950 was repealed by the Catchment Management Act, 1989 (Act No. 235, 1989) and the Hunter Catchment Management Trust was formed to continue its functions.(7). The new Trust commenced on 1 January 1991. (8)




Endnotes
(1) Hunter Valley Conservatiob Trust Act, 1950 s. 4
(2) Ibid s. 5
(3) Ibid. s.10
(4) Hunter Valley Conservation Trust (Amendment) Act 1966 s. 3
(5) The The Hunter Valley Conservation Trust (Amendment) Act 1967 s. 2 (5) (a)
(6) Ibid. Schedule
(7) Catchment Management Act, 1989 Schedule 6, Part 2
(8) NSW Government Gazette No. 174. 21 December 1990 p. 11166.