The Old Police Station and Courthouse is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

former

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

and

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

located at 74 Binnia Street,

Coolah Coolah is a town in the central western part of New South Wales, Australia in Warrumbungle Shire. At the 2016 census, Coolah had a population of 1,290. Material was copied from this source, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution ...

, in the

Warrumbungle Shire The Warrumbungle Shire is a local government area in the central western region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is traversed by the Newell Highway. The Warrumbungle mountain range and Warrumbungles National Park are major tourist attra ...

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 was designed by the Colonial Architect of New South Wales,

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 ...

, and built from 1878 to 1880 by Henry S. Winter. 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.

History

The small building, when constructed in 1878-1880, housed the combined functions of court house, police station, lockup and police residence. It was designed by the Colonial Architect, James Barnet and built by Henry S. Winter. Some alterations, designed by the office of the Government Architect,

Walter Liberty Vernon Colonel Walter Liberty Vernon (11 August 184617 January 1914) was an English architect who migrated to Australia and pursued his career as an architect in Sydney, New South Wales. In his role as the New South Wales Government Architect he is ...

, were carried out in 1898 by the builder J. T. Saunders of Merriwa and consisted of the conversion of old cells to bedrooms for the residence and the construction of new cells and yard. Some additional minor alterations were carried out between that time and 1930 by the Government Architect of the day, none of which detracted from the architectural significance of the building. In 1979

Coolah Shire Coolah Shire was a former local government area in New South Wales, Australia from 1906 to 1994. It was established under the '' Local Government (Shires) Act 1905'' with effect from 7 March 1906. The shire offices were based in the small town of ...

Council requested the making of a conservation order over the Old Police Station and Courthouse. As a new police station and a new police sergeant's residence had already been built on another site in Coolah, plans were being made for its disposal. The

Department of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

and Services supported the making of a conservation order in respect of the building. On 28 March 1980 a permanent conservation order was placed over the property. In 1987 the Department of Public Works invited tenders for the purchase of the property. It was transferred to the State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

Description

The building is of Colonial style architecture. It is constructed of brick with some stone and a galvanised iron roof. It retains a good state of architectural integrity.Branch Managers Report to the Heritage Council 24 August 1979

Heritage listing

As at 3 October 2000, the building, completed in 1880, was one of the few examples remaining from the Victorian era of a small combined police and court building. It was designed by the eminent Colonial Architect, James Barnet, and retains a good state of architectural integrity, as one of the oldest public buildings in the town of Coolah. The Old Police Station & Courthouse was listed on the

on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. Completed in 1880, the building is one of the few examples remaining from the Victorian era of a small combined Police and Court building. It was designed by the eminent Colonial Architect, James Barnet, and is one of the oldest public buildings in the town of Coolah.

References

Bibliography

Attribution

{{NSW-SHR-CC, name=Old Police Station & Courthouse, dno=5045704, id=00048, year=2018, accessdate=1 June 2018

Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Coolah, New South Wales