Notice of Application to Vary a Charitable Trust

The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited as trustee of the FRANK SYDENHAM SCHOLARSHIP TRUST (“Trust”) has applied to the High Court at Tauranga to vary the terms of the Trust under Part 3 of the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 (“Act”).

The Trust was established by the late Frank Sydenham of Tauranga in 1972 to provide scholarships for pupils from Bay of Plenty Schools to promote post-graduate education in horticulture, forestry and agriculture. The trustee has experienced difficulties in locating applicants for scholarships and has applied to the Court to vary the trust to allow a greater catchment of applicants (New Zealand wide) and for scholarships to also be available for undergraduate study. Preference will still be given to Bay of Plenty students and post-graduate study. Changes to the selection process are also proposed as a result.

The proposed changes have been referred to the Attorney General as required by the Act. The Attorney General has reported that the proposed changes are appropriate to better implement Mr Sydenham’s wishes.

A copy of the application documents is available for any member of the public to inspect without charge at the office of the trustee at 61 Willow Street, Tauranga.

The application will be heard by the High Court at Tauranga on 8 August 2023 at 9.30am. Any person who wishes to oppose the application can do so provided they have given written notice of their opposition at least 7 days before the hearing date. The notice of opposition must be filed in the High Court at Tauranga and served on the trustee’ solicitor, Cooney Lees Morgan, Level 3, ANZ Centre, 247 Cameron Road, Tauranga (attention Keith Catran) and served on the Attorney General by his agent Crown Law, Level 3, Justice Centre, 19 Aitken Street, Wellington (attention Helen Carrad).

This Notice is given by Cooney Lees Morgan as solicitor for the applicant trustee The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited.