The following is an account of the activities of the Land Office section of the Land and Legal Branch of the New Zealand Railways. The office forms an important part in the Railways organisation, as the Railway Department is probably, on a value basis, the largest landowner in the Dominion, and experiences all the cares and responsibilities that go hand in hand with the ownership of realty.

From its inception some very capable officers have controlled the administration of the Land Office. Their names will be familiar to railway-folk, starting with the appointment of the first Land Officer, Mr. E. G. H. Mainwaring, in 1880, who was followed in turn by Messrs. J. T. Ford, G. McCartney, J. Young, M. Dennehy, H. Jessup, and Thos. Snow.

The present Land Officer, Mr. G. H. Davis, has as his aides Mr. H. W. Cook, Chief Draughtsman, in charge of the drafting and survey staff, and Mr. R. G. J. Wilson, Chief Clerk, in charge of the clerical and deeds work.

Highly specialised Work.

The main functions of the Land Office consist of the acquisition of land required for railway works, the disposal of land no longer required, and the control and development of the huge total area necessarily occupied in the construction of the 3280 miles of open railway track in the Dominion. The work is of a highly specialised character and demands officers qualified in surveying and acquainted with legal work to carry it out. Even the typistes have a formidable task to cope with in the intricacies of technical terms and legal phraseology.

It is impossible in the scope of a short article to go into detail, but it might be of interest to readers to give an outline of the history of any average piece of railway land.

Land Acquisition: A Typical Case.

We will suppose that as part of its developmental programme the Department finds it necessary to acquire “Blackacre” from that well known figure in legal fiction “John Doe.” Surveys are carried out by the Department's surveyor, plans are prepared to the standard set by the Surveyor-General, and a proclamation is drafted and gazetted. From the date of the issue of the Gazette notice containing the proclamation, the land is vested in the Railway Department, and the question of the payment of a fair price for it comes to the fore.

It is a peculiarity of human nature that “Blackacre,” in John Doe's mind, when it is required for public purposes, becomes immediately blessed with advantages to him which give it an astonishing value when compensation is to be assessed. Here is full play for the utmost tact and care in negotiations. While the Department naturally desires to pay a fair price for land, it is essential that the adoption of a sympathetic stand in dealing with John Doe should not be allowed to result in the land costing the Department more than its fair value. The statutory provisions under which land is taken provide that compensation may be arrived at by mutual agreement between the parties; page break

New Zealand Railways Land Office Staff
(Rly. Publicity photos.)
(1) Mr. R. G. J. Wilson, Chief Clerk; (2) Clerical and Deeds Staff; (3) Mr. G. H. Davis, Land Officer; (4) Typistes section; (5) Records Staff

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New Zealand Railways Land Office Staff
(Rlys. Publicity photos.)
(1) Mr. H. W. J. Cook, Chief Draftsman and Proclamation Officer; (2) Drawing Office Staff; (3) The Land Office Staff; (4) Messrs. D. Currie, Surveyor and Draftsman, and L. T. Cooper, Draftsman; (5) Mr. P. St. John Keenan, Land Draftsman

page 52 or failing that, that it should be assessed by a Compensation Court. All wise people avoid litigation where possible, and it is to the credit of the Department that in all the thousands of negotiations which have taken place since the inception of the Land Office, only about 3 per cent. have required to go to the Compensation Court for final settlement. This satisfactory result has been achieved by strict fairness in dealing with claimants, and a due regard to the rights of both sides.

“Blackacre” having been acquired and handed over to the Working Railways, we find that on the fringe there is an area of say half-an-acre that is not required for immediate use, or which by the terms of the settlement the Department has been forced to acquire in excess of its needs. It is with the use of this land to the best advantage that the Land Office has to deal. Sometimes it is put to suitable uses, such as tree planting. It may be disposed of to the best advantage by public auction, but it is usually leased. The leasing is governed by several policy considerations. If the land is in or adjacent to a busy station yard with siding accommodation it makes ideal business and factory sites, the convenient rail access being to the advantage both of the Department and the lessee. On the other hand, the unused portion of our “Blackacre” section may consist only of a strip of land alongside the track, or a portion which by its nature and location is suitable only for agricultural purposes. By leasing it the Department benefits both directly and indirectly; it creates a revenue producing asset, and it relieves the Railway staff to a certain extent from the responsibilities involved in holding land idle, which frequently has to be cleared of noxious weeds.

Sub-division and Leasing.

The land must be suitably subdivided into sections, according to the nature of the lease. Tenders are called and a lease arranged if a tender of sufficient value is received; if not, attempts are made to dispose of the lease by private treaty to interested parties. The work of preparing the deeds, setting out the rights and liabilities of the lessee, and fully protecting the Department's interests devolves on the Land Office. The area and dimensions of all leases granted are plotted on the lease plans, of which a complete set is kept in addition to the land plans, i.e., those defining boundaries and showing title references to all lands held by the Department.

In addition to the leasing of Railway land there are innumerable privileges granted by deed, such as rights-of-way, rights to lay pipes, rights to take water, etc. These are also prepared in the Land Office and entered on the lease plans. Some idea of the magnitude of this work may be gleaned from the fact that there are at present over 7,500 current grants of privileges and leases of Railway land yielding a total rent of approximately £60,000 per annum. The growth of the work is shown by comparison with the figures for the year 1904, when there were 2,000 leases and grants at an annual rent of £24,000.

Leasehold interests, like all interests in land, are in many cases of great value, and become the subject of complicated dealings, such as those by way of mortgage, sublease or assignment.

Protecting the Department's Rights.

The Land Office may be called the “Registration Office” in respect of railway lands and leases, and in the Department's interests it is essential that any such dealings should be submitted for its consent. It is also in the lessees' interests that a complete record should be kept for the protection of those relying on titles to Railway land.

When documents concerning dealings are sent forward for the consent of the Government Railways Board they are carefully scrutinised to see that the rights of the Department are not in any way interfered with. In the course of a year many such documents are certified as having the Department's interests fully protected.