The Kiandra Courthouse is a heritage-listed former courthouse at

Kiandra Kiandra is an abandoned gold mining town and the birthplace of Australian skiing. The town is situated in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council inside the Kosciuszko National Park. Its name ...

in the

Kosciuszko National Park The Kosciuszko National Park () is a national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wildern ...

Snowy Valleys Council The Snowy Valleys Council is a local government area located in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of the Tumut Shire with the neighbouring Tumbarumba Shire. The council area ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It is also known as Kiandra Courthouse/Chalet. The property is owned by the Office of Environment and Heritage, an

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

of the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999. Kiandra Courthouse was severely damaged by fire during the 2020 Kosciuszko National Park bushfires

History

This was the site of the courthouse and gaol established as part of Kiandra Township with a gold rush in the area in 1859–60. Evidence of the gold rush phenomenon and the former Kiandra Township is represented in the landscape, through the extant remains spread across the former town site. Kiandra is significant as the site of the first Australian ski club and as probably the first Australian place which promoted snow sports. The 1958 and 1962 Kiandra Chalet building extensions to the original courthouse is a typical example of the KSPT promoted State Park Alpine style. The remnant chalet is important as one of the few remnant buildings of Kiandra's resort/

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

era, and therefore is a twentieth century link with the nineteenth century pioneer snow sports in Australia. Later, the building was used as a place of accommodation for generations who stayed at the chalet for recreation or during the construction of the Snowy Hydro Scheme. In 2000 Heritage Council approval was given for the removal of single storey additions, to return the building to the original courthouse, as well as to repair roofing and guttering to reduce water ingress. In 2013 the Heritage Council approved the adaptive re-use of the courthouse and chalet, including a new accommodation and services building, including removal of the existing shed structures surrounding it.

Description

Setting

A large mature Western Yellow pine (''

Pinus ponderosa ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

'') survives on the road frontage of the former courthouse / chalet. This is one of three such trees in this location. Due to deteriorating condition, two of these pines were removed after a 2009 inspection (Tumut Region Tree Surgery, 27/10/2017). This remaining pine tree retains value as a landmark, literally marking the site of the courthouse/chalet on the flattish road landscape. The courthouse is on the eastern side of the

Snowy Mountains Highway Snowy Mountains Highway is a state highway located in New South Wales, Australia. Its two sections connect the New South Wales South Coast to the Monaro region, and the Monaro to the South West Slopes via the Snowy Mountains. The higher alti ...

, Kiandra, within the Kosciuszko National Park.

Buildings

The stone building fronting the highway consists of the 1890s courthouse and associated police quarters (police cell) the courtroom and the chalet living room. The original courthouse was the first substantial public building in the town and the product of the office of the noted late-nineteenth century NSW Colonial Architect,

James Barnet James Johnstone Barnet, (1827 in Almericlose, Arbroath, Scotland – 16 December 1904 in Forest Lodge, Sydney, New South Wales) was the Colonial Architect for Colonial New South Wales, serving from 1862 to 1890. Early life Born the son of a ...

. In the 1950s and 1960s the building was modified and expanded and the original courthouse fabric was subsumed entirely by extensions to the ground floor and addition of a first floor. These additions were timber clad with skillion roofs, in the established Kosciuszko State Park Trust Style. The Department of Main Roads started using the building as the base for its snow clearing operations from 1971 until they vacated the building around 1999. From 1999 the

NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment responsible for managing most of the protected areas in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name the ...

removed some sections of the deteriorated 1960s fabric and boarded up the building. The courthouse remained unused until 2010 when the courtroom at the front of the building was restored.

Modifications

In the 1950s and 1960s the building was modified and expanded and the original courthouse fabric was subsumed entirely by extensions to the ground floor and addition of a first floor. These additions were timber clad with skillion roofs, in the established Kosciuszko State Park Trust Style. The Department of Main Roads started using the building as the base for its snow clearing operations from 1971 until they vacated the building around 1999. From 1999 the NPWS removed some sections of the deteriorated 1960s fabric and boarded up the building. The Courthouse remained unused until 2010 when the courtroom at the front of the building was restored.

Heritage listing

Kiandra Courthouse was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

* * *

Attribution

External links

{{commons category-inline New South Wales State Heritage Register Kosciuszko National Park Kiandra, New South Wales Houses in New South Wales Hotels in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register James Barnet buildings Former courthouses in New South Wales