Murrumburrah is a town adjacent to the town of Harden, southern New South Wales. The former Courthouse located in Murrumburrah is now used for community activities. The first courthouse building was constructed on the site in 1880.
The Albany Courthouse is an operating Magistrates Court for civil and criminal matters in Albany, Western Australia. On the shores of the beautiful King George Sound, the first European settlement in 1826 was really a penal colony under the jurisdiction of the New South Wales Colony, and the first ‘courthouse’ as such a simple thatched roof affair. More history can be read on the WA Government’s Department of Justice page.
Young, a town on the south-west slopes of New South Wales has two courthouse buildings. One is the operating local courthouse while the other, constructed in 1886 is now part of a school.
The current Orange Courthouse building was designed by the Colonial Government Architect James Barnet. Construction was completed in 1883. Previous buildings existed on the site, the first being erected in 1847, around the time of the town’s settlement, and operated as a Court of Petty Sessions, being the usual arrangements in those times.
Orange was proclaimed a municipality in 1860, the first meeting being held in the Courthouse, located on the same site as today, but a different structure.
The old Port Adelaide Courthouse constructed in 1882 lies adjacent to the earlier Port Adelaide Police Station built in 1861. Inquests into deaths, often due to drownings following heavy drinking at local pubs, were held. These were inquests by juries in those times before the local police magistrate.
In 1858 a police station and lockup was constructed in Strathalbyn, a rapidly developing rural region south of Adelaide. A Courthouse soon followed, built of local stone.
The Armidale Courthouse and Sherriffs Office at 143-145 Beardy Street, Armidale, in the Northern Tablelands was an operating Local Court of New South Wales until January 2014. The first courthouse was constructed in 1844 with a more substantial building erected in 1858, in the Classical Revival style.
The Magna Carta, sealed under oath by King John at Runnymede, England in 1215, became part of English law, and subsequently adopted into Australian law.
Yackandandah Courthouse was constructed in the heritage town of Yackandandah in the 1860s.
The Cairns Courthouse constructed in 1919 was described as a ‘graceful and imposing structure’. A far cry from the previous ‘disgraceful courthouse’.
The former Courthouse in Berry was designed by the colonial government architect James Barnet in the Greek Revival Style. No longer operating as a courthouse the building has been restored and is admirably surrounded by beautiful lush, formal gardens.
The website of the Berry Courthouse Conservation Committee contains information on the history of Berry Courthouse, the building and its restoration.
Forgery of a will was of great concern for the ancients. Emperor Nero established the technique of will piercing, tying with ribbon and adding stelae.
Manly Courthouse was first constructed in 1909 on the site of the former Ivanhoe Hotel and regarded as a significant development.
While the locality had no crime to speak of it was observed the residents had the right to have a court of their own to save the inconvenience of having to travel across the water to settle their troubles.
Glen Innes Courthouse 1873 is the design work of James Barnet, built in local stone. The Courthouse is still operational as a local court in New South Wales, and previously a Mining Warden’s Court. The locality of Glen Innes is of Scottish heritage.
Inheritance and intergenerational transfer of property has concerned families and civilisations for centuries. Inheritance laws of the ancient city of Gortyn (Gortys), Crete were inscribed on stone in a public place in the fifth century. The Law Code of Gortyn is a written set of rules prescribing who inherits, among other private matters, so as to keep property in the male side of family.
The Law of the Twelve Tables, which contained rules on inheritance, was a code formulated to appease class conflict in the largely agrarian society in Rome in 450 BCE. The Twelve Tables formed the basis of Roman Law.
The Norwood Courthouse 1937 in Norwood, Adelaide was one of the few police courthouse buildings built during the interwar period. It was reported at the time as being the ‘most commanding building outside the City’.
“The Romans were also wont to set aside testaments as being inofficiosa, deficient in natural duty, if they disinherited or totally passed by (without assigning a true and sufficient reason) any of the children of the testator.”
Courthouses in Australia reflect a diverse heritage of built form to meet colonial needs for the administration of justice.
Northam Courthouse, Wellington Street, Northam; a Magistrates Court of Western Australia.
The Northam Courthouse is an operating Magistrates Court serving the agricultural community of Northam, west of Perth in Western Australia.