Old Court House, Perth
Encyclopedia
Stirling Gardens
Stirling Gardens, also known as Supreme Court Gardens is a small public park in Perth, Western Australia. Known in some early records of Perth as 'Government Gardens' - they are 100 metres west of Government House....
in Barrack Street, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, adjacent to the Supreme Court building. It is a single-storey cream rendered building, with a wooden shingle roof.
The Old Court House is the city's oldest surviving public building and is one of two remaining examples of the work of Henry Reveley, the colonial civil engineer. It is one of the few remaining buildings designed in the classical Greek revival style of the 19th century in Perth.
Description
The Old Court House building stands at the south-east corner of Stirling GardensStirling Gardens
Stirling Gardens, also known as Supreme Court Gardens is a small public park in Perth, Western Australia. Known in some early records of Perth as 'Government Gardens' - they are 100 metres west of Government House....
in Perth. It is a simple looking building of Georgian style architecture. It is of stone rubble construction with a stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
finish. It is a small simple building with a hipped roof which was originally clad with slate. The entry portico, which was added later, is supported by doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
pillars. The area around the north and west of the building is paved in sandstone coloured interlocking concrete paving bricks.
History
In 1836, GovernorGovernor of Western Australia
The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
James Stirling
James Stirling (Australian governor)
Admiral Sir James Stirling RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the Swan River Colony and he became the first Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia...
gave orders for the construction of a Court House in Perth. In February 1836, Henry Willey Reveley, the colonial civil engineer from 1829-1938 prepared plans and specifications for the new building. Reveley was responsible for the design and construction of several early public buildings in the colony including the Round House
Round House
The Round House is the oldest building still standing in Western Australia. It is located at Arthur Head in Fremantle, and recent heritage assessments and appraisals of the precinct of the Round House incorporate Arthur Head....
in Fremantle, the Commissariat Store, the Government Offices, the first Soldiers' Barracks and Government House in Perth.
The Court House in those days stood close to the original shoreline of the Swan River. The Court House was completed in December 1836. The first Court of General Quarter Sessions was held in the building on 2 February 1837. The building was officially opened with a Church service conducted by the Reverend John Burdett Wittenoom on Good Friday, 24 March 1837. The Courthouse continued to double as a place of worship until St George's Church
St George's Cathedral, Perth
St George's Cathedral is the principal Anglican church in the city of Perth, Western Australia and the mother-church of the Anglican Diocese of Perth. It is located in St Georges Terrace in the centre of the city.- History:...
was built in 1842.
Aside from its general purpose use as a Courthouse and temporary place of worship the building was also used as a schoolroom. On 20 September 1847 the first Perth Boys' School was established in the building. Prior to the construction of the Mechanics Institute and the Town Hall
Perth Town Hall
The Perth Town Hall, situated on the corner of Hay and Barrack streets, is the only convict-built town hall in Australia.Designed by Richard Roach Jewell and James Manning in the Victorian Free Gothic style, the hall was built by convicts and free men between 1868 and 1870...
the Court House was the only substantial building in Perth suitable for public meetings. The building played an important role as a focus for the cultural life of the Swan River Colony
Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. In 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when the colony's founding Lieutenant-Governor, Captain James Stirling,...
. The building, now referred to as the Old Court House was called into service intermittently between 1856-1863 as an emergency immigration depot. In 1863 following repairs and alterations the building was once again utilised as a Court House, this time for the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court occupied the building from 1863-1879, until September 1879, when the Supreme Court relocated to new premises in the remodelled former Commissariat Store, a short distance from the old Court House in Stirling Gardens
Stirling Gardens
Stirling Gardens, also known as Supreme Court Gardens is a small public park in Perth, Western Australia. Known in some early records of Perth as 'Government Gardens' - they are 100 metres west of Government House....
.
From the 29 July 1905 until 1965 the building was used by the Arbitration Court. Minor changes were made to the building in 1921. On 14 October 1966, following renovations to the building which included a new shingled roof, the Law Society of Western Australia was granted use of the building for its official premises. In 1974 a Law Museum was established in the building. In 1985 the Law Society relocated its offices and the building underwent internal refurbishment to reconstruct its appearance as the Arbitration Court of 1905. In 1987 the Francis Burt
Francis Burt
Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt, AC, KCMG, QC , commonly known as "Red", Australian jurist, served as Chief Justice of Western Australia from 1977 until 1988 and as Governor of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993. He was also Lieutenant Governor of the State from 1977 to 1990...
Legal Education Centre was established in the building.
Current use
The Old Court House currently houses the Francis BurtFrancis Burt
Sir Francis Theodore Page Burt, AC, KCMG, QC , commonly known as "Red", Australian jurist, served as Chief Justice of Western Australia from 1977 until 1988 and as Governor of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993. He was also Lieutenant Governor of the State from 1977 to 1990...
Law Education Centre and Museum.
Heritage value
The Old Court House was entered into the Register of the National Estate by the Australian Heritage Commission in October, 1980 and classified by the National Trust of Australia (WA) in February 1978. On 14 February 2003 it was placed on the permanent state heritage registerHeritage Council of Western Australia
The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state.It was created under the Heritage of Western Australia Act...
.
Further reading
- Western Australia, An Architectural Heritage Williams, A.E., Williams Pioneer Publications, Perth, Western Australia, 1979
- Building a State, The Story of the Public Works Department of Western Australia 1829-1985 Le Page, J.S.H, Water Authority of Western Australia, 1986
- Supreme Court & Gardens, Conservation Plan (Heritage and Conservation Professionals) prepared for the Department of Contract and Management Services on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, September 1998
- The Old Courthouse Perth, Conservation Plan (Brady, Wendy & Smith, Ross) for the Building Management Authority of Western Australia, 1992