Agricultural Leases Regulations




cover all charges in respect of such grant inclusive of rent for the first six months of the term but not including costs for survey if any or costs awarded on hearing of objections or the value of any improvements which may have been effected on the land applied for and where such improvements exist there shall also be paid to the Receiver of Gold Revenue such additional sum as shall have been fixed by the Warden as the value of the improvements and upon production of the Receiver’s receipt for the above sums to the Warden he shall give to the applicant a certificate in the form in the second schedule hereto bearing even date with such receipt from which date the commencement of the term of the lease if a lease be granted shall be taken and computed.

  1. Governor’s power to refuse lease reserved.

On issuing any certificate the Warden shall forthwith forward to the Superintendent a duplicate of such certificate and notwithstanding the issue of the same it shall be lawful for the Superintendent within thirty days from the date thereof to refuse to grant to the applicant a lease of the land referred to in such certificate and immediately upon such refusal being communicated to the applicant either personally or by letter addressed to him at his usual or last known place of business or abode the certificate and any matter and thing therein contained shall become and be absolutely void and the applicant shall forthwith quit and deliver up possession of the said land and failing his so doing he may be proceeded against as a trespasser on Crown Lands.

  1. Certificate to be exchanged for lease.

Whenever a Lease of any lands for which a certificate shall have been granted as aforesaid shall be executed on behalf of Her Majesty the same shall be forwarded to the Warden who shall thereupon give notice in writing in the form of the fourth Schedule hereto to the holder of the certificate directing him to attend at the Warden’s office within thirty days of the date of service of such notice and execute such lease: And if such person shall without reasonable cause refuse or neglect to comply with such notice or to pay the rent (if in arrear) as hereinafter provided he shall be deemed to have relinquished his claim to the land comprised in such lease and the certificate for the same shall thenceforth be void and the Warden shall report the circumstance of such refusal or neglect to the Superintendent who may thereupon by notice in the Provincial Government Gazette declare such land to be open for application and occupation by any other person for the same or any other purpose.

  1. Rent.

Rent at the rate of two shillings and sixpence per acre per annum shall be payable half-yearly during the term and at the time of the execution of the lease rent shall be paid up to the first day of January or the first day of July as the case may be from the date up to which payment shall then last have been made and thereafter the rent shall be payable by equal half-yearly payments in advance on the first day of January and the first day of July in every year and the payment hereinbefore required at the time of granting certificate shall be deemed to include payment of rent for the first six months of the term and for the purpose of computing rent every fractional part of an acre shall be considered as an acre and every fractional part of a month shall be considered a month and shall be respectively charged for accordingly.

  1. Sale and Assignment.

No sale or assignment other than a sale or assignment by act or operation of law of any Agricultural Lease or of the right title or interest therein or thereto shall be valid or effectual either at law or in equity if made without the license in writing of the Superintendent and no license to assign will be granted unless and until the lease shall have been executed by the applicant as hereinbefore required and all arrears of rent shall have been paid and it shall be certified by the Warden that the conditions hereinafter contained regarding improvements have been fulfilled.

  1. Registration of Assignment.

Every assignment of any Agricultural Lease shall be registered at the Warden’s Office and on every such registration a fee of ten shillings will be charged.

  1. Conditions of Occupation.

Every certificate and lease shall be subject to the conditions following that is to say—

  1. That no sale or assignment shall be made without license.

  2. That planting cultivation fencing or other permanent improvement shall be commenced within three months after the commencement of the term.

  3. That not less than one-eighth of the whole area shall be cultivated within twelve months after the commencement of the term or one-half of the whole area substantially fenced within the same time.

  4. Land may be taken for roads.

Such public road or roads may be taken through or over any portion of the land as public convenience may require upon payment to the occupier of compensation for any improvements that may have been made on the land actually taken.

  1. Construction of Water Races.

It shall be lawful for the Warden to authorise the construction and use of water-races through and over any lands held under certificate or Agricultural Lease and to grant free entry to such lands for the purposes of cleansing and repairing such races provided that the lessee or occupier shall be entitled to compensation from the person constructing any such race and that for the purposes of the construction of such races and the settling of the amount of such compensations such lands shall be held to be private lands within the meaning of the 21st section of the “Gold Fields Act 1866.”

  1. Area withdrawn to be deducted.

When any land held under certificate or lease shall have been withdrawn for any of the before-mentioned purposes the area so withdrawn shall be deducted from the acreage originally granted and the rent thereafter payable under such certificate or lease shall be reduced in the same proportion as the deduction bears to the entire acreage.

  1. Conditions of entry to search for Gold.

The right of free entry upon any land held under certificate or lease as aforesaid for the purpose of searching for gold or for any other metal or mineral is reserved to the Superintendent and to such persons as shall be authorised so to do in writing under the hand of the Superintendent subject to such conditions as the Superintendent for the time being may appoint and every certificate or lease shall be subject to a condition that such certificate or lease may be determined when any gold or other metal or mineral shall be discovered on the land.

  1. Application to enter to search for gold.

Any holder of a miner’s right desiring to enter for the purpose of searching for gold upon any land held under certificate or Agricultural Lease shall apply to the Warden in the form of Schedule Three hereunto annexed and shall serve upon the occupant or lessee of the land a duplicate copy of such notice.

  1. Application to be heard.

On the receipt of any such application to enter,



Next Page →



Online Sources for this page:

VUW Te Waharoa PDF Otago Provincial Gazette 1872, No 772





✨ LLM interpretation of page content

🗺️ Agricultural Leases Regulations (continued from previous page)

🗺️ Lands, Settlement & Survey
8 December 1871
Agricultural Leases, Regulations, Otago, Gold Fields Act