Batemans Bay Courthouse and Museum NSW Australia
S 35° 42.729 E 150° 10.681
56H E 244707 N 6044306
CURRENT USE: Museum
ORIGINAL USE:Court House Police Station and Lock-up Complex
Waymark Code: WM7RHR
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 11/27/2009
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Statement of Significance
Although moved from its prominent location in the civic centre, the former Court House and Police Station retains its high-level local historic significance for its role in establishing police operations and the administration of justice in Batemans Bay. It is also of significance for the continuity of a single process for just over 100 years. The building has local aesthetic significance for having been designed by eminent Government Architect W L Vernon and for its characteristic domestic style, unusual for a building of its type and function in the local Batemans Bay area. Some of the aesthetic significance of the building has been reduced with the loss of its tall chimneys, a characteristic of the Queen Anne style. It is of local social significance for its local area identification with the provision of law and order in Batemans Bay from the late 19th century. Scientifically, it has local significance for its potential to contribute to an understanding of the changes in the administration of law and order and of the lifestyle of police officers form the late 19th to late 20th centuries.
Note: There are incomplete details for a number of items listed in NSW. The Heritage Branch intends to develop or upgrade statements of significance and other information for these items as resources become available.
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Description
Designer/Maker: W L Vernon
Builder/Maker: Government Builder
Construction Years: 1905 -
Physical Description: Federation Queen Anne. Timber framed with weatherboard walls. Vented gables to hipped roof. Timber verandah with vertical balustrade.
Further Information: Moved to present Watergarden site Metal shed built in 1995, currently being restored after relocation. in 1994. Chimneys removed. On new metal pipe piers. New roofing to verandah link. New timber balustrading.
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History
Historical Notes: The Court House and Police Complex was built on a former site in Orient Street in 1885. The complex was destroyed by fire in October 1903. A new complex was built on the same site in 1905. Government Architect W L Vernon designed the Court House and Police Station as a prominent feature in the Batemans Bay townscape and a key element of the civic centre. The Court House consists of a Court Room and adjoining Clerk of Petty Sessions office. Attached to the Court House is the three bedroom police residence. The building was in use as a police residence until 1986 and was moved to its current 'Watergarden' site in 1994. The Complex is now operated by the Batemans Bay Historical Society as a museum.