Wagga Wagga Court House

Item details


Name of item:	Wagga Wagga Court House
Type of item:	Built
Primary address:	Fitzmaurice Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650
Local govt. area:	Wagga Wagga

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Fitzmaurice Street	Wagga Wagga	Wagga Wagga			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The Wagga Wagga Court House is a large and visually stimulating public building complex that occupies a prominent corner site within the town and is one of the finest examples of its type in Australia. This building, along with the Bourke Court House is a rare and largely unaltered example of the creativity of the Government Architects' office at the turn of the century. The clock tower is a city landmark. (Sheedt 1976) and (Schwager Brooks and Partners Pty. Ltd.)..
	Date significance updated: 20 Jul 98
	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:	Walter Liberty Vernon
Construction years:	1900-1902
Physical description:	The Wagga Wagga Court House is a large and visually stimulating assymmetrically designed building. It occupies a corner site and is comprised of several pavillions. It is dominated by a massive square clock tower .The court house is constructed of face brickwork relieved by sandstone string courses and panels of rough cast stucco. These contrasting building materials create interest when combined with an eclectic combination of decorative details. The style is basically Edwardian with Venetian and Saracenic influence revealed in the campanile, umbrella shaped roof cupolas and arrangement of pavillions around courtyards linked by arcaded, open loggias which are used to replace internal corridors. The main entrance to the court room is by monumental stairways at the side street while the entrance to the court offices is through an archway in the main street caped by two moulded royal crowns. Roofs are hipped in form and sheeted with rolled, seamed non-ferrous material. Roof eaves are generous and bracketed by decorative ironwork while the simple spreading roof forms are well suited to a Riverina town (Sheedy 1976) and (Schwager Brooks and Partners Pty Ltd). The interiors are particularly fine, having face brick and stucco decorated walls and polished cedar fittings and joinery.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The building is in excellent condition having recently been renovated (Sheedy 1976).
	Date condition updated:20 Jul 98


Current use:	Court House

History

Historical notes:

The Wagga Wagga Court House was designed by the then Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon. Tenders for its construction were called in 1899 and was won by Charles Hardy & Co. of Wagga. The clock tower was not included in the original design or tender but was awarded to the same contractor in 1901. The foundation stone was laid by the Hon. E.W. O'Sullivan, Secretary for Works on 3/12/1900. The bulk of the building was completed by 1902 at a final cost of 12710-8-4 pounds (Sheedy 1976) and (Schwager Brooks and Partners Pty. Ltd.).

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
7. Governing-Governing	Law and order-Activities associated with maintaining, promoting and implementing criminal and civil law and legal processes	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	This building, along with the Bourke Court House is a rare and intact example of the dreativity of the Government Architects office at the turn of the century (Schwager Brooks and Partners Pty. Ltd.).
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The Wagga Wagga Court House is a large and visually stimulating Federation Free Styled public building complex that occupies a prominent corner site within the town (Schwager Brooks and Partners Pty. Ltd.). The clock tower is a city landmark (Sheedy 1976).
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	This building, along with the Bourke Court House is a rare and intact example of the creativity of the Government Archirects office at the turn of the century (Schwager Brooks and Partners Pty. Ltd.).
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.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Number	Gazette Date
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register	9100H
Development Control Plan
National Trust of Australia register		31 May 76
Register of the National Estate	000719

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written			Register of the National Estate
Written	D. Sheedy	1976	National Trust (NSW) Classification Card
Written	Schwager Brooks and Partners Pty Ltd	1993	Department of Courts Administration Heritage and Conservation Register

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

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	5001372

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