AGY-6910 | Lithgow Local Land Board

Full description

Local Land Boards were community based quasi-judicial tribunals serving the metropolitan, regional and rural communities to resolve conflict and disputes relating to land matters within jurisdictions granted by a number of Acts. (1) Their constitution, primary jurisdiction, powers and procedures, arose under provisions contained in the Crown Lands Act of 1884, and later the Crown Lands Act 1989 and Western Lands Act 1901. (2) Under these Acts, a board sat as a tribunal in open court and adopted similar procedures to a Local Court (previously Court of Petty Sessions). However, a Local Land Board was not bound by the rules of evidence, which made for more flexible proceedings. (3)

A Local Land Board was able to conduct hearings, public inquiries, receive appeals and settle disputes. The main Acts under which the boards were most often called on to conduct hearings were the Dividing Fences Act 1991, Roads Act 1993, Water Act 1912, Commons Management Act 1989 and the Rural Lands Protection Act 1998. (4)

Some of the matters that boards dealt with were:
- receiving appeals about ministerial decisions relating to rents, leases, licenses or permits of Crown land
- settling disputes and claims concerning the fencing of land in the western division
- disputes between neighbours in relation to a common boundary fence
- conducting public inquiries into proposed openings and closures of roads
- public inquiries into the construction of water supply schemes, artesian bores or drainage schemes
- appeals against Rural Lands Protection Boards regarding carrying capacity decisions
- inquiries into complaints about the management of commons. (5)

Under the Crown Lands Act 1884, Local Land Boards were to be created for every Land District or for several Land Districts. Each Board was to consist of a chairman and two members. (6) Accordingly, on 2 January 1885, the Land District of Lithgow was proclaimed (7) and, on the same day, Thomas Warre Harriott was appointed to be a Member and Chairman of the Local Land Board for the Land District of Lithgow, as well as the Districts of Berrima, Camden, Campbelltown, Gosford, Kiama, Liverpool, Metropolitan, Milton, Moruya, Nowra, Parramatta, Penrith, Windsor and Wollongong, with the head office at Sydney. (8) On 20 January 1885, Frederick Franklin and H Eagar were appointed as the other two members of the Lithgow Local Land Board. (9)

Notices of meetings of the Local Land Boards were published in the Government Gazette. The Gazette of 7 July 1885 gave notice of what was probably to be the first meeting of the Lithgow board, scheduled for 5 August at the Lithgow Courthouse. (10)

In January 2014, 22 tribunal jurisdictions, including Local Land Boards, were incorporated into the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). NCAT was an independent statutory body established on 1 January 2014 by the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 which provided the framework for its organisation and operations. (11) Subsequent Acts, including the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Amendment Act 2013 and the Civil and Administrative Legislation (Repeal and Amendment) Act 2013 tidied-up the legislative environment, the latter replacing references to Land Boards with references to NCAT. (12)

Endnotes
1. P. Boyce, Senior Chairperson, Local Land Boards of NSW, Submission to Inquiry into Opportunities to Consolidate Tribunals in NSW, 24 November 2011, p.1.
2. 'Local Land Boards' information brochure https://www.ballina.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/em_res.asp?id=3591 (accessed 16 August 2016).
3. Crown Lands Act of 1884 (48 Vic. No.18, 1884), s.14(I); Crown Lands Act of 1989 (Act No.6, 1989), Sch.2.
4. 'Local Land Boards' information brochure https://www.ballina.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/em_res.asp?id=3591 (accessed 16 August 2016).
5. Loc. cit.
6. Crown Lands Act of 1884 (48 Vic. No.18, 1884), s.11.
7. NSW Government Gazette No.5, 2 January 1885, p.179.
8. NSW Government Gazette No.5, 2 January 1885, p.195.
9. NSW Government Gazette No.30, 20 January 1885, pp.633-34.
10. NSW Government Gazette No.273, 7 July 1885, p.4191.
11. New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal Annual Report 2014, p.10.
12. Ibid., p.4; Civil and Administrative Legislation (Repeal and Amendment) Act 2013 (Act No.95, 2013), Sch.8.