G & R Wills & Co Ltd v City of Adelaide [1962] HCA 61

High Court of Australia McTiernan, Windeyer and Owen JJ. G & R Wills & Co Ltd v City of Adelaide [1962] HCA 61

ORDER Appeal allowed. Judgment of the Supreme Court varied by substituting the sum of £145,735 for the sum of £91,966 wherever appearing therein. Respondent to pay appellant's costs of the appeal. Cross-appeal dismissed with costs.

Cur. adv. vult.

The Court delivered the following written judgment:—

Dec. 5 McTiernan, Windeyer and Owen JJ.

The questions for determination in this appeal arise out of the compulsory acquisition by the Corporation of the City of Adelaide of portion of certain land owned by the plaintiff in the City of Adelaide, the purpose of the resumption being to widen a narrow street called Gawler Place on to which the resumed land fronted. The plaintiff brought an action for compensation and Millhouse J. awarded it £91,966. The plaintiff has appealed on the ground that the amount is insufficient and the defendant has cross-appealed on the ground that the amount is excessive.

The land resumed was portion of a larger area owned by the plaintiff, upon the whole of which was erected a building in which it and its predecessor, a partnership, had been carrying on the business of a wholesale merchant of soft goods and fancy goods for more than one hundred years. The building consisted of a basement and five floors, except for a portion at its eastern end in which there were three floors and a basement. It contained bulk storage space, display floors, a factory for making shirts and other articles, office accommodation and lavatories. The western end of the building had a frontage of 87 feet 8 inches to Gawler Place and from that frontage the land on which the five-storeyed part of the building stood ran back a distance of about 189 feet. The portion resumed was a strip along the whole frontage to Gawler Place with a depth varying from 23 feet 5 inches at the southern end to 23 feet 10 inches at the northern end. The part of the building standing on this strip contained 12,000 square feet of floor space used mainly for showrooms and other purposes of the business.