Why is this place significant?

DESCRIPTION: The first sitting of the Supreme Court in Greymouth was held on 8 June 1909. Tenders for the courthouse were called two years later and the foundation stone of the new building was laid on 12 March 1912 by Sir Arthur Guinness, Speaker of the House, and the Hon. R. McKenzie, Minister of Public Works. The building was completed by the end of the same year at a cost of nearly six thousand pounds by the builders J. Kelsall & Sons.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: The Greymouth Courthouse is a single storey building designed in a restrained Edwardian Baroque style. Largely symmetrical in plan and elevation, the courthouse has load-bearing brick walls resting upon concrete [or more likely sandstone] foundations. All the decorative surfaces of the principal facade are plaster clad and this treatment extends around the corners of the building, whereas the brickwork of the side and rear walls has been left exposed. Large sash windows light the ancillary rooms around the perimeter of the building and a ramp along the west wall provides wheelchair access to the courthouse. The facade has a 'centre and ends' composition with very little applied ornament which is confined between a base imitating cyclopean rustication and a blocked cornice and simple parapet. The polygonal end bays each feature a large rectangular sash window, with a decorative architrave and oversize keystone. These windows are flanked by smaller sash windows and ornamental plaques set within panels of smooth banded rustication. A short flight of stairs leads to the main entrance which is framed by pairs of engaged columns and crowned by an open-bed pediment which breaks through the cornice above. Beneath the pediment the arched doorway is emphasised by a rusticated surround and a decorative console in place of a keystone. Flanking the entrance are paired sash windows with decorative architraves and keystones set off against a ground of exposed brick. Inside the building the plan is dominated by a central courtroom and the hallway which surrounds it. The courtroom has a pitched roof supported by four arch braces and is lit by clerestory windows. Public entry to the court is provided at the rear of the room, opposite the main entrance, whilst two doors set within each side wall communicate with the hallway, providing access for court officials and jury members. Hipped roofs shelter the ancillary rooms, chief among them being a holding cell, jury room and law library on the west side of the building and the judges' rooms and concrete strong-room on the east side. MODIFICATIONS: c.1970 - Court room reroofed. 1980s - Mezzanines constructed over most of the ancillary rooms on the west side of the building; the largest of which are those above the staff training room and the bailiff's room in the north and south corners respectively. Removal of wall and installation of public inquiry counter in the south-east corner of the building.

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This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.