Old Court House, Perth, Colonial courthouse in Perth, Australia
The Old Court House is a single-storey stone-rubble building with a stucco finish and a hipped shingle roof, standing at the south-east corner of Stirling Gardens. Its entry portico is supported by Doric pillars, and it is one of the few remaining Greek Revival buildings in Perth.
Governor James Stirling ordered a courthouse for Perth in 1836, and Henry Willey Reveley prepared the plans that February. The building was completed in December 1836, held its first Court of General Quarter Sessions on 2 February 1837, and was officially opened with a service by Reverend John Burdett Wittenoom on Good Friday, 24 March 1837. It doubled as a place of worship until St George's Church was built in 1842.
The building was never the colony's administration centre; it was a multi-purpose public hall. Besides court sessions it hosted the first Court of General Quarter Sessions on 2 February 1837, Anglican worship until St George's Church opened in 1842, and the first Perth Boys' School from 20 September 1847. The Law Museum now occupies it.
The building sits at a corner location in downtown Perth and is easy to reach on foot from nearby streets. Inside, a museum presents the history of law and justice, with access available several days per week for visitors.
The jarrah coat of arms on display was carved by Lewis Hasluck, grandfather of Paul Hasluck, and commissioned by Chief Justice Henry Wrenfordsley in 1880. It was found during the 1965 renovations, then painted and plastered and nearly thrown away, and later restored.
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