The Bendigo Law Courts is a building on Pall Mall in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

, a regional city in the Australian state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The courts back onto and are partly surrounded by

Rosalind Park Rosalind Park is an Australian park in Bendigo, Victoria. Prior to white settlement, a grassy woodland surrounding what is now called Bendigo Creek. At that time the creek was little more than a chain of pools and billabongs. This area would ha ...

. The building was built between 1892 and 1896 by the contractors McCulloch and McAlpine and designed by Public Works architect George W. Watson. The building was constructed in the Victorian Second Empire style been described as reminiscent of an Italianate palazzo and shares a great deal with its neighbouring building, the

Bendigo Post Office The Bendigo Post Office is a building on Pall Mall in Bendigo, a provincial city in the Australian state of Victoria. The post office backs onto and is partly surrounded by Rosalind Park. The building was built between 1883 and 1887 by the contr ...

, which was also designed and built by Watson, McColloch and McAlpine 10 years earlier. The Law Courts are built of rendered brick and Harcourt (Victoria)

Bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * felds ...

. The Bendigo Law Courts are aesthetically significant for its high qualities of design and construction, which are reflected in the building's innovative planning, axial expression, carefully proportioned hierarchical spatial arrangement, internal decoration, fittings and refined detailing. The Bendigo Law Courts remain in use, with daily sittings of the Magistrates Court and other courts on circuit. The Bendigo Law Courts are included in the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

(item number B5126). Construction of a new courthouse on the corner of Mundy and Hargreaves street began in 2020, it is expected to be complete in 2023.

References

External links

Heritage Victoria
Second Empire architecture in Australia 1896 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Bendigo Government buildings completed in 1896 {{Australia-struct-stub