The Short Title of this Act is The Grand Lodge of Freemasons of New Zealand Trustees Act 1903.

In the interpretation of this Act the following terms shall have the meanings hereinafter respectively assigned to them, unless inconsistent with the subject or context:

All lands and any estate therein, and all moneys and securities for money, and all personal property now held by Grand Lodge or by any person or persons on behalf of Grand Lodge, and all Masonic lands, and all moneys or securities for moneys and personal property which may at any time or times hereafter be acquired by Grand Lodge by gift, purchase, devise, bequest, or otherwise, shall, after the coming into operation of this Act, but subject to and without prejudice to any mortgage, charge, encumbrance, lien, or lease affecting the same respectively, become vested in the trustees who shall be appointed by Grand Lodge in accordance with the constitution and laws of Grand Lodge, upon such trusts and for such purposes and subject to such conditions as shall from time to time be defined by such constitution and laws of Grand Lodge, and shall be subject to the provisions of this Act.

Upon the passing of a resolution by any Craft Lodge adopting this Act, all lands and any estate therein, and all moneys and securities for money, and all personal property then held by such Craft Lodge or by any person or persons on behalf of such Craft Lodge, and all Masonic lands, and all moneys or securities for money and personal property which may at any time or times thereafter be acquired by such Craft Lodge by gift, purchase, devise, bequest, or otherwise, shall, subject to and without prejudice to any mortgage, charge, encumbrance, lien, or lease affecting the same respectively, become vested in the trustees who shall be appointed by such Craft Lodge in accordance with the by-laws for the time being governing such Craft Lodge, upon such trusts and for such purposes and subject to such conditions as shall from time to time be defined by such by-laws, and shall be subject to the provisions of this Act. A certificate that a resolution has been passed by any Craft Lodge on a particular date adopting this Act, signed by persons purporting to be the Master and Secretary of such Craft Lodge, shall be taken as sufficient evidence that such Craft Lodge has adopted this Act upon the date named in such certificate.

So far as persons dealing with such trustees are concerned, such trustees, both of Grand Lodge and Craft Lodges, shall be deemed to have the same power of sale, lease, mortgage, and disposition over such property as if they were the absolute owners thereof; and it shall not be incumbent upon any person to inquire whether any proposed dealing constitutes a breach of trust, nor shall any person be concerned to see to the application of any purchase, mortgage, or other moneys paid to such trustees.

Where any sale, mortgage, exchange, or lease of any Masonic lands subject to the provisions of this Act shall be made, the transfer, mortgage, exchange, or lease of such land, if under the operation of the Land Transfer Act, shall be as effectual if signed by a majority of the trustees for the time being of such land named in the Register of Trustees hereinafter mentioned as if such transfer, mortgage, exchange, or lease had been duly signed by all the trustees or registered proprietors thereof; and, in case such land shall not be under the operation of such statute, the conveyance, mortgage, exchange, or lease thereof, if executed by a majority of the trustees for the time being thereof named in such Register of Trustees, shall be deemed to pass the legal estate therein as fully and effectually as if all the trustees in whom the legal estate was vested had joined in, executed, or made such conveyance, mortgage, exchange, or lease.

The signatures of the majority of the trustees for the time being in whom are vested any lands mortgaged to such trustees, or in whose names are invested any moneys in any bank or company, to any release or transfer shall be sufficient to reconvey, release, or transfer respectively the estate of all the trustees therein in the same manner as if such documents had been signed by the whole of such trustees.

The authorised representative for the time being of the Grand Lodge shall keep or cause to be kept, in duplicate, a Register of Trustees of the several lands and funds for the time being held subject to the provisions of this Act on behalf of Grand Lodge and the respective Craft Lodges in New Zealand, and such register shall be called and inscribed as “The Grand Lodge of Freemasons’ Register of Trustees for New Zealand,” and shall be in the form or to the effect contained in the Schedule hereto; and such authorised representative shall with all reasonable despatch enter or cause to be entered in such Register of Trustees the names and additions of the present trustees of such lands and funds respectively, with all other particulars indicated in the said Schedule; and such authorised representative shall from time to time, upon the appointment of any new trustee or trustees under the constitution and laws of Grand Lodge or by-laws of Craft Lodges respectively, insert or cause to be inserted in such Register of Trustees the name and addition of any new trustee or trustees, and how the vacancy in the trust occurred, whether by death or otherwise, and the date of the appointment of the new trustee or trustees, and also of the date of insertion of his or their name or names in such Register of Trustees; and such authorised representative shall sign his name in such Register of Trustees in the proper column, in the same line with the name of every trustee (old and new), to authenticate the due appointment of each trustee.

On the insertion as aforesaid in the said Register of Trustees of the name or names of any new trustee or trustees of any such lands not under the operation of the Land Transfer Act held subject to the provisions of this Act, the estate in such lands of the trustee or trustees in whose place such new trustee or trustees shall be appointed shall forthwith vest in such new trustee or trustees, solely or jointly as the case may be with the old continuing trustee or trustees (if any), for the same estate and interest as the former trustee or trustees had therein, and subject to the same trusts, without any conveyance or assignment whatsoever; and on the insertion as aforesaid in the said Register of Trustees of the name or names of any new trustee or trustees of lands under the operation of the said Land Transfer Act held as aforesaid, such new trustee or trustees, together with the former or continuing trustees (if any), shall be deemed the owner or owners thereof within the meaning of the said Land Transfer Act, as if the name or names of such new trustee or trustees appeared or was or were entered as such owner or owners in the register-book kept under the provisions of such Land Transfer Act, and as if a record of title had been duly issued to him or them, solely or jointly as the case may be with the former continuing owner or owners (if any), for all the same estate and interest as the former owner or owners had therein, and subject to the same trusts, without any transfer being made for the purpose; and as to lands under the operation of the Land Transfer Act, the trustees for the time being thereof registered aforesaid in the said Register of Trustees shall be deemed the owners thereof within the meaning of the same Act, as if the names of such trustees appeared or were entered as such owners in such register-book, and as if records of title had been duly issued to them, but subject to the provisions of this Act, and to any then subsisting mortgage, lien, encumbrance, or lease.

On the insertion as aforesaid in the said Register of Trustees of the name or names of any new trustee or trustees of any personal property, moneys, or securities for money held subject to the provisions of this Act, the estate in such property, money, or securities of the trustee or trustees in whose place such new trustee or new trustees shall be appointed shall forthwith vest in such new trustee or trustees, solely or jointly as the case may be with the old continuing trustee or trustees (if any), for the same estate or interest as the former trustee or trustees had therein, and subject to the same trusts, without any transfer or assignment whatsoever.

A book purporting to be the Register of Trustees hereinbefore referred to shall, on production thereof by the authorised representative for the time being, or the acting authorised representative for the time being, or by any person appointed for that purpose by either of such persons in writing, be received and taken in all legal proceedings and on all occasions whatsoever as sufficient evidence (except in case of fraud or collusion) for and against not only the immediate parties but for and against third persons, purchasers, and all others whom it may concern as to who are or were the trustees of such lands, property, or funds, and also of the vacancies which occurred in the trusteeship, and of the appointment of new trustees to supply such vacancies, and of the date of the insertion of their names as aforesaid in such Register of Trustees, and of their consent to act, and of all other matters recorded therein in pursuance of section 4 hereof, and judicial notice shall be taken of such book and of the signatures of the authorised representative therein; and any extract purporting to be an extract from such Register of Trustees, and certified under the hand of such authorised representative or acting authorised representative for the time being as aforesaid, and bearing what purports to be the seal of Grand Lodge, shall be received and taken in all legal proceedings and in all dealings with Masonic lands before the Registrar-General of Land, and on all occasions whatsoever, as sufficient evidence of the several extracted matters comprised in such extract so far as the same may relate to any particular Masonic land, property, or funds without the production of such Register of Trustees, and judicial notice shall be taken of the signature of the authorised representative or acting authorised representative to every such extract, and of such seal of Grand Lodge: And in case of the decease, illness, absence, or temporary incapacity of such authorised representative as aforesaid, some other person may be appointed by the Grand Master for the time being of Grand Lodge to act in the place of such authorised representative, but not for a longer period than the next annual meeting of Grand Lodge, and such other person shall be designated the “acting authorised representative of Grand Lodge”; and such acting authorised representative during the time for which he shall be so appointed shall have, perform, and execute all the powers, authorities, and duties of such authorised representative, and shall underneath his signature in the columns of the said Register of Trustees insert the word “Acting,” and shall underneath his signature to any extract to be made by him from such Register of Trustees insert the words “Acting Authorised Representative of Grand Lodge”; and a copy of the New Zealand Gazette containing a notification by the Grand Master for the time being of Grand Lodge of the appointment of such authorised representative or of such acting authorised representative as aforesaid, shall be sufficient evidence of the due appointment of such authorised representative and acting authorised representative respectively.