Toowoomba Court House, Heritage-listed courthouse in Toowoomba, Australia.
Toowoomba Court House is a heritage-listed former courthouse at the corner of Margaret and Neil Streets, built mainly of locally quarried Highfields sandstone. Its Margaret Street front has a central projecting bay with three open arches forming a ground-level portico, wrought iron gates and cedar doors. Three rear wings, added in 1913 and 1943, include a rendered central wing and a former stables now used as a garage.
Built between 1876 and 1878, this courthouse replaced an earlier structure from 1863 and became the third judicial building on the Darling Downs. The structure received major modifications in 1913 when a Lands Office was added, with further expansions completed in 1943 under architect R C Nowland.
The building's name and role shifted with the town: the first court house on the Darling Downs stood at Drayton, and Toowoomba's 1863 predecessor in Margaret Street was replaced by this larger structure. After the court moved to Hume Street in May 1979, government departments occupied it, and since 2000 it has been a private residence.
The former courthouse stands at the corner of Margaret and Neil Streets, next to the Toowoomba Post Office. The front garden is landscaped, while the rear of the site is asphalted and used as a car park. Shallow steps lead up to the open portico, where wrought iron gates fill the three front arches.
The 1913 single-storey Lands Office at the rear cost £1963-10 to build and fronted Neil Street. In 1943 a storey was added to it and two two-storey buildings were placed behind the 1878 section, one attached to form a U-shape and one freestanding in the centre, all designed by government architect R C Nowland for £28799.
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