Courthouse, Darlinghurst, NSW - Courthouses on Waymarking.com

The courthouse was built adjacent to the Darlinghurst prison which was designed & built to overlook Sydney, as a constant reminder that Sydney was a convict town.

This Greek Revival building was the first purpose-built courthouse in New South Wales, and became the template for courthouse design throughout the colony for the next 60 years. The project also represented a major shift in the colony's approach to public works, for although convict labour was used to dig its foundations, most of the work was carried out by private contractors and sub-contractors. Indeed, this was partly the reason for the lengthy delays in completing the building, but gradually the sandstone edifice rose up, its pediment and pillars visible for miles around. It was a singularly impressive achievement, a building which manifested the colony's architectural design capabilities, and its 'really good and handsome masonry', but also symbolised the changing nature of its society.

If the nearby gaol was a visual reminder to people of the wages of sin, then the considerably more elegant courthouse was a suitably monumental and 'classical' signal of the importance of the rule of law, and the colony's ability to administer justice and civil authority.

The complex of sandstone buildings has great heritage value. It contains three courtrooms, galleries, vestibules, offices, chambers, central portico and flanking colonnades: it has a slate roof, timber floors (marble inside vestibules) and cedar joinery. It has a Doric portico, elaborate pediment with coat of arms, and flanked colonnaded wings standing slightly forward.

The above information was obtained from the following source:

Dictionary of Sydney staff writer, 'Darlinghurst courthouse', Dictionary of Sydney, 2008, (visit link) viewed 05 May 2012

Year Built: 1842 Current Use of Building: District Court Criminal and Special Jurisdiction, Sydney and Central Division. Level of Courts: Multiple Architect: Mortimer Lewis Dates this building was used to house judicial proceedings: 1842 - present Physical Address: Darlinghurst Courthouse Oxford St Taylor Square Darlinghurst Hours: Multiple courts, refer to the related website link for hours. Related Website: [Web Link]

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