AGY-518 | Maritime Services Coordination Board of New South Wales

Full description

The Maritime Services Coordination Board was appointed on 3 January 1933 (1) under the Maritime Service Co-ordination Board Act, 1932 (Act No.54, 1932) which received assent on 21 December 1932.(2) The Board consisted of five members appointed by the Governor including the Superintendent of the Navigation Department, an officer of the Department of Public Works, and one of the Commissioners of the Sydney Harbour Trust. The purpose of the Board was to furnish a report and draft legislation on the means of coordinating the various maritime services, namely "the Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners, the State Department of Navigation, the Reclamation Trust (which investigated proposals for the reclamation of submerged and low lying lands) and the Dredges Branch of the Department of Public Works."(3) The purpose of the investigation was to improve the efficiency of these agencies and, particularly, to investigate the possibility of vesting in one authority the control of dredge plants, maintenance and repair works and to eliminate overlapping between Commonwealth and State Navigation Departments. The Board's report to the Governor, dated 27 October 1933, stated that there was no significant overlapping of Commonwealth and State activities and recommended that the State should administer its maritime services most efficiently by establishing a Maritime Services Board. The Board wound up on the cessation of its functions to submit a report and draft legislation. (4) FOOTNOTES:
(1) New South Wales Government Gazette No.1, 6 January 1933, p.1.
(2) New South Wales Government Gazette No.194, 30 December 1932, p.4599.
(3) New South Wales Official Yearbook, p.196.
(4) Maritime Services Co-ordination Board Act, 1932 s. 4