AGY-1673 | Lord Howe Island Board of Control

Full description

Lord Howe Island was included in the territorial boundaries of New South Wales as defined under the Constitution Act, 1855, however, its lands were not subject to the Crown Lands Act.(1) A Royal Commission investigating the Island’s trade recommended a board be established to take control of the affairs and trade of the Island. Consequently, on 12 February 1913, the establishment of the Lord Howe Island Board of Control was proclaimed. (2)

The Board was not appointed by Act of Parliament but derived its authority from the Governor-in-Council and was to take charge of the affairs of the Island and the trade thereof. The first Board consisted of three members: the Under Secretary of the Chief Secretary’s Department who was Chairman, the Chief Clerk and an officer of the Department of Agriculture. (3)

The Board of Control was vested with a permissive occupancy of the whole Island, with all previously existing permissive occupancies of such lands to be cancelled. This lack of secure land tenure, in addition to concerns over the need to protect the Island from unchecked development while at the same time raising revenue for the Island’s economic survival, led to the establishment of the Lord Howe Island Board as a statutory body on 23 April 1954  under the Lord Howe Island Act 1953 (Act No.39, 1953).(4)

FOOTNOTE:
(1) Concise Guide to the State Archives, (LO): Lord Howe Island Board.
(2) NSW Government Gazette, 12 February 1913, p.935.
(3) NSW Government Gazette, 12 February 1913, p.935.
(4) NSW Government Gazette No.71, 23 April 1954, p.1213; Concise Guide to the State Archives, (LO): Lord Howe Island Board.