Drystone Wall, Melton Hill, Heritage stone wall in Townsville, Australia.
The Drystone Wall at Melton Hill stands at 2–4 Cleveland Terrace in Townsville's central business district. It is a dry-stone structure of stacked stones laid without mortar, the only surviving physical evidence of the former Townsville Supreme Court, which was built as the Townsville Library and School of Arts and opened in September 1877.
The wall is the only surviving trace of the Townsville Supreme Court site, originally built as the Townsville Library and School of Arts. That timber building, designed by Charles Alexander Ward for a £10 premium, opened in September 1877. In 1889 the Northern Supreme Court moved from Bowen to Townsville, and the Rooney Brothers converted the School of Arts for court use. The wall may be the remnant of John Melton Black's property boundary.
The wall is the only surviving physical trace of the former Townsville Supreme Court site, which began as the Library and School of Arts. That building, with its 80-by-35-foot hall, hosted the town's first full operas and oratorios, its first skating rink, early evening classes and the 1885 banquet for the Premier.
The wall stands at 2–4 Cleveland Terrace on Melton Hill, within the Townsville CBD and a short walk from Flinders Street. It is a heritage-listed structure, so visitors should view it from the street and avoid climbing or removing stones.
The wall may be the oldest surviving structure in Townsville: it has been suggested it formed the boundary of John Melton Black's property, whose 1865 survey plan shows him owning three acres atop Melton Hill. His house there, "Bachelor's Hall", had four rooms, verandahs and a detached kitchen.
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