Old Wollongong Court House

Item details


Name of item:	Old Wollongong Court House
Other name/s:	Sea Scouts Drill Hall, Old Court House and former Customs House
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Law Enforcement
Category:	Courthouse
Primary address:	1 Harbour Street Cnr Cliff Road, Wollongong, NSW 2500
Local govt. area:	Wollongong City

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
1 Harbour Street Cnr Cliff Road	Wollongong	Wollongong City			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The site of Old Wollongong Court house and former Customs House are of significance for Wollongong area for historical, scientific, and reasons of rarity. The site has the potential to contain further information on the development of Wollongong and the Illawarra from the earliest period of European settlement, and on the history of government's administrative and punitive functions. The Old Courthouse is one of the earliest designed and built by the newly reorganised Colonial Architect's office after self government in 1856. Its design is representative of Colonial Architect's office and is repeated in other district court houses. The site forms part of the Wollongong Harbour State Heritage Precinct (SHR 01823).
	Date significance updated: 01 Mar 21
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Govt Architect Alexander Dawson
Physical description:	1858 brick and stone Old Court House and the weatherboard Customs Office.


Current use:	Community Heritage Centre
Former use:	Court House & Drill Hall

History

Historical notes:

The site was first built upon in the convict period and formed part of the location of the military garrison in 1829, further established in 1835. The early phase of development of this Government owned complex included temporary accommodation for the troops, often in tents, until permanent buildings were created including the barracks, the Commandant’s residence, a watch house and flagellator’s residence and temporary court house and post office. It is possible that a building, later used as stables, was constructed on the study site as early as 1829 to house the soldiers. After the garrison was moved from Wollongong (in 1844) the buildings were used by the local police and a gaol was constructed in 1859 which remained in operation until its demolition in 1919-1920.

Situated south of the Harbour Street and Cliff Road intersection within the former Government Reserve established in 1833, is the 1858 brick and stone Court House building. The Old Court House replaced an earlier timber structure and served the district until 1885, when the current Market Street Courts were opened. The weatherboard Customs Office, dating from c 1880, was relocated from Brighton Lawn to the former Government Reserve in 1887. The building was then used as a Customs House under State control until Federation, when the customs post was transferred to Port Kembla.

In 1901, the building was transferred to the Australian Army for use as a drill hall. In 1919, the government reserve was cleared except for the court house as part of the NSW governments Brighton House Scheme. The reserve that originally covered the area of all the existing lots adjoining the present Old Court House Lane and Magistrates Lane, was subdivided into 10 residential lots excluding the former court house in 1919. Cottages were built at around 1920-1921. After the land surrounding the court house was subdivided, the court house was leased out to different individuals. It was first leased to W.J. Charlton in 1927 however the site was not used at that time.

The weatherboard Customs Office was relocated again to its present location at the southern edge of the site in 1938 to allow for extensions to the Old Court House.

Between 1950 and 1973, the site was occupied by the CMF Battalion. In 1974 TS Albatross Naval Cadets moved from their facilities at the Harbour and occupied the site. The army used the site as a drill hall for miniature rifle range. During WWII, it was occupied by Werriwa Regiment with additions including three classrooms and a general office, altering the eastern windows and the fireplace.Between 1974 to 1998, the T.S. Albatross Naval Cadets occupied the site, with internal and external alterations.

Wollongong City Council acquired the site and the buildings were restored in 2000. The buildings have been well maintained and are now used as meeting rooms for community organisations and an exhibition venue.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Governing-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The item has historic value.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	State
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The item has rarity.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	State- The item represents the oldest Government building in Wollongong.
Integrity/Intactness:	The item has integrity.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

Further archaeological investigation is recommended as part of any future DA process. Archaeological evidence of the period prior to 1835 could include features such as wells, post holes or rubbish deposits. Evidence of structures post-1835 would be relating to more permanent settlement, including a court house, cell blocks, commandant’s house and other related structures. Scientific data could include footings of the 1829 stables/soldier’s barracks and 1859 gaol. Relics of the stables/soldier’s barracks could provide information regarding the daily life of a soldier in the 1830s which would be considered rare. Any such relics have the potential to be an extremely important resource on a historical themes of government development, the penal system, administration and domestic life.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Wollongong Local Environmental Plan 2009	5908	26 Feb 10	2010-76
Local Environmental Plan			07 Jan 00	1/2000	69

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
City of Wollongong Heritage Study	1991	B22-C	McDonald McPhee Rogers Conacher Fullarton	Neaves	No
Review of heritage items in Wollongong LGA	2013	5908	Zoran Popovic	Zoran Popovic	Yes

References, internet links & images

None

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2700003

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