TWO NEW VALUATION COMMITTEES FOR LAND IN WANGANUI AREAS

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 April 1950, Page 4

TWO NEW VALUATION COMMITTEES FOR LAND IN WANGANUI AREAS

WELLINGTON, Last Night (PA).— The Minister of Justice, Mr. Webb, announces that consequent upon the removal of urban properties from the control of the Servicemen's Settlement and Land Sales Act, 1943, new land valuation committees have been established to exercise jurisdiction in respect of sales and leases of rural properties, and to undertake other functions prescribed for land valuation committes by the Land Valuation Court Act, 1948, and other enactments. The rearrangement is to be effective from May 1. New committees will each comprise a Stipendiary Magistrate as chairman and one other member who has been appointed for his practical knowledge of farming and of land values generally. The Taranaki-Wanganui committee will be presided over by Mr. S. S. Preston, Stipendiary Magistrate at Wanganui and Mr. L. D. Hickford, Okato. The district will comprise the Taranaki land district, plus the counties of Wanganui, Waitotara, Patea and Waimarino and cities, boroughs and towns within the limits of that area. The registry office for land in the Taranaki land district will be New Plymouth and for land in the Wellington land district, Wellington. "Palmerston North Committee is to consist of Mr. A. Coleman S.M., Feilding (chairman) and Mr. J. Linklater, Milson’s Line, Palmerston North. The district will confer the counties of Rangitikei, Kiwitea, Pohangina, Dannevirke, Weber, Woodville, Oroua, Manawatu, Kairanga and all the cities, boroughs and towns within the limits of that arep. The registry office for land in the Hawke’s Bay land district will be Napier and for land in the Wellington land district, Wellington.

The Gisbourne Committee members will be Mr. E. L. Walton, S.M., Gisborne (chairman), and Mr. I. F. Watt, Arero and Mr. W. H. Freeman S.M., Tauranga (deputy chairman). The district ’will comprise the Gisborne land district. The registry office will be Gisborne.

The Hawkes Bay members will be Mr L. G. H. Sinclair, S.M., Napier (chairman) and Mr. C. H. Loughnan, Otane. The district will be the Hawke's Bay district, exclusive of the counties of Weber, Woodville and Dannevirke. The registry office will be Napier.

The Minister said that is as nearly as possible the districts in which the new committees will act will be coterminous with the districts of magistrates who have been appointed chairmen. Although the districts in which the committees will function have been re-arranged in this way, it is not at present proposed to constitute different or additional registries of the Court. For the convenience of the public, however, arrangements have been made that documents for filing in the Land Valuation Court may be left for that purpose at any office of tile Magistrate’s Court for forwarding to the appropriate registries. Any document so lodged with the registrar of a Magistrate’s Court will be forwarded by him to the proper office of •the Land Valuation Court, but it is necessary to add that for procedural purposes the date of filing will be the date when it reaches the latter office.