Courthouse (Former)

Guinness Street, GREYMOUTH

Quick links:

The Greymouth Courthouse was one of Government Architect John Campbell's (1857-1942) last designs. It is a single storey building built between 1911 and 1912, in the centre of the town. It replaced the wooden courthouse built in 1876. The earliest attempts to enforce Pakeha law in Greymouth occurred with the appointment of William Horten Revell as Warden in 1865. Previously the Inspector of Police in Timaru, Revell was appointed Resident Magistrate in Greymouth in 1868. By the end of the same year (the year Greymouth became a separate municipality), three courts were operating in Greymouth; the Warden's and Resident Magistrate's administered by Revell, and the District Court, presided over by a judge. From 1876 court hearings were held in a 'wood and iron' building in Hospital Street (later renamed Guiness Street). The first sitting of the Supreme Court was held in Greymouth in 1909. With its arrival the 1876 courtroom became seen as small and inadequate. A newspaper report on the December 1909 sitting of the Greymouth Supreme Court reported that the Honourable Mr Justice Cooper had already approached the Department of Justice about the need for better accommodation. The foreman of the Grand Jury supported this move and requested that further efforts be made in this regard. These requests were eventually successful and tenders were called for a new courthouse in 1911. Local builders Kelsall & Son were the successful tenderers and the foundation stone was laid in March 1912. The architect of the Greymouth Courthouse, Campbell, joined the Public Works Department in 1883 and became Draughtsman in Charge of the Architectural Branch of the department from 1889. Campbell was responsible for the design of government buildings throughout New Zealand for over thirty years (until his retirement in 1922), and established Imperial Baroque as the official style for government buildings. The courthouse in Greymouth is one of Campbell's more restrained designs, typical of his later work. In his recent thesis on government architecture, architectural historian Peter Richardson points out that the Greymouth Courthouse is unusual in that it, along with the Masterton Courthouse, were designed with a specific model in mind, that of Stewart, Lanchester and Rickards' Law Courts and Municipal Buildings in Cardiff, (designed in 1897 and built 1901-1904). It was more common for the Architectural Branch to combine standard floor plans with a standard range of Baroque elements rather than look directly to a specific overseas example. The Greymouth Courthouse is significant as an example of one of Campbell's later, more restrained designs and as one of a few buildings designed by him that refers directly to a specific overseas model. It was built during a major period of government construction throughout New Zealand and continues to serve as the centre of local justice. In Greymouth a new courthouse, post office, and departmental building were all erected within ten years of each other, and this reflects both the town's growth in this period and its contemporary importance within the West Coast region.

Courthouse (Former), Greymouth. CC BY 4.0 Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org | Mike Dickison | 07/09/2020 | Mike Dickison - Wikimedia Commons
Courthouse (Former), Greymouth. CC BY 4.0 Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org | Mike Dickison | 11/09/2020 | Mike Dickison - Wikimedia Commons

Location

Loading

List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

5016

Date Entered

6th June 1990

Date of Effect

6th June 1990

City/District Council

Grey District

Region

West Coast Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes the land described as Lot 4 DP 3250 (RT WS8B/702), Westland Land District, and the building known as Courthouse (Former) thereon.

Legal description

Lot 4 DP 3250 (RT WS8B/702), Westland Land District

Stay up to date with Heritage this month