Dangerfield v Town of St Peters [1972] HCA 15

High Court of Australia Barwick C.J. McTiernan and Windeyer JJ. Dangerfield v Town of St Peters [1972] HCA 15

ORDER Appeal allowed with costs. Order of the Supreme Court varied by increasing the amounts awarded to the appellants from the sum of $38,000 to the sum of $64,500 and from the sum of $8,095 to the sum of $45,000.

Cur. adv. vult.

The following written judgments were delivered:—

1972, Feb. 28 Barwick C.J.

On 11th July 1967, the appellants Henry Lancelot Dangerfield and Roy Frederick Dangerfield were the owners (the owner appellants) and the appellant Rodgers and Brewster Pty. Ltd. the lessee (the lessee appellant) of certain land which lies in a loop of the River Torrens at Walkerville, a suburb of Adelaide. The land is mainly bounded by that river. Its boundary goes to the centre of the bed of the river. In all the area of the land is some eleven acres. But it is agreed that an area of 3.6 acres which lies between the bank of the river and the centre of the stream is subject to occasional flooding and is of no significant value. An area of approximately 1.4 acres is solid ground and no dispute exists before this Court as to the value assigned to it by the Supreme Court in this litigation. The balance of land comprises an area of approximately six acres and its value for the purposes of compensation is in dispute in this appeal. I shall hereafter refer to this area as "the subject land" or "the land".

The respondent council by notice to treat given on 11th July 1967, acquired for the purpose of recreation the whole of the said eleven acres and other lands owned by the owner appellants. The validity of the acquisition was challenged before the Supreme Court of South Australia: but that challenge was not upheld.

The question raised by this appeal is whether the amounts awarded by the Supreme Court of South Australia to the respective appellants for compensation for the land and the interests therein taken by the respondent council were adequate. The Supreme Court assessed the compensation payable to the owners of the land at $38,000 and to the lessee of the land at $8,095. The appellants seek by their appeal to have these amounts increased to $64,500 and to $45,000 respectively; or in the alternative an order for the reassessment of the compensation due to them.