THE UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA PROPERTY TRUST (NSW) v VINCENT and ORS [1994] NSWCA 328

UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA PROPERTY TRUST (NSW) v VINCENT

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL

KIRBY P, CLARKE and SHELLER JJA 16 and 17 May 1994, 19 August 1994 [1994] NSWCA 328

CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS — Church property and trusts Presbyterian Church of Australia — union with Methodist and Congregational churches in the Uniting Church in Australia — effect on trusts established by will made in 1918 containing trusts which benefit Presbyterian clergymen for the advancement of the tenets of religion and educational purposes of the Presbyterian Church — whether such trusts constitute property held in trust for the Presbyterian Church or for any person or body connected therewith within the Presbyterian Church Property Consolidation Act 1904 — whether, if so, a distinction is made between corpus and income — whether subsequently such property passed to the Trust established by the Presbyterian Church (New South Wales) Property Trust Act 1936 — whether subsequently such property passed under the Presbyterian Church of Australia Act 1971 to be held subject to statutory provisions governing the new basis of union of the Presbyterian Church with other churches — whether such property became vested in the Trust established by the Uniting Church in Australia Act 1977 — whether such vesting was subject to the "special trusts" created by the will of the testator and liable to be administered accordingly — whether in respect of any such special trusts there was a partial failure of the trusts specified by the testator — whether in respect of any such failure there was a general charitable purpose sufficiently disclosed by the will — whether, if so, a scheme cy pres should be determined to give effect to such general charitable purpose — held: (allowing the appeal from Powell J):