Gladstone Court House, Heritage courthouse in Yarroon Street, Gladstone, Australia

Gladstone Court House is a two-storeyed red face brick building on Auckland Hill, H-shaped in plan, with a hipped corrugated iron roof and rendered string courses at floor and window levels. A flight of stairs leads to a verandah and portico carried by two Doric columns, with "COURT HOUSE" in raised lettering on the entablature. The upper floor holds the courtroom across the cross section of the H, furnished in silky oak; the ground floor has a central corridor, a general office and a small courtroom.

Built between 1940 and 1942, this structure replaced an 1873 timber courthouse that served the Port Curtis district. Its construction marked a major step in the city's judicial history, providing a permanent and purpose-built home for court proceedings.

The courtroom keeps its purpose-built silky oak furniture: judge's bench, witness dock, jury benches, tables and chairs. The building was a combined courthouse and public offices, also housing the land ranger, forestry officer, stock and dairy inspectors and mining registrar.

The courthouse sits on Yarroon Street and is easy to spot with its red brick front and classical columns. Visitors should allow time to appreciate the details both inside and on the exterior, as the building showcases thoughtful architectural design from its era.

Before this building existed, court cases were handled inside tents, showing how quickly judicial operations evolved in the early settlement. The structure marks a shift from temporary makeshift arrangements to a solid institutional presence in the growing town.