Notre Dame University ND22 - Court House
Lot 1383 (Crown Land) on Marine Parade
The Courthouse was built in 1883 by builder J.J. Harwood and Sons for the Public Works Department. The cruciform building has massive walls, up to 60 centimetres thick, and cells in the basement. The large portico, of three arches with a large pediment, is reminiscent of the Palladian style.
It was the Colony's third courthouse, officially opened by the Governor of WA in July 1884 and used until June 1899.
Opinion of the Herald, 28 April 1883: To put the Court House in the position decided upon is to seperate the public offices, and helps to perpetuate that detached system of house building which renders Perth and Fremantle the ill-looking towns that they are… (reference)
1899 The Acting Resident Magistrate Mr James Lilly: His thoughts reverted to the original court-house on the Old Gaol Hill, at the foot of High-street, to reach which they had to climb up a steep flight of steps. They had thought they were very well off when they got the building fronting South Bay, but that in its turn proved inadequate to the requirements. (reference)
This building was used by the Uniting Church for some years.
1996- As part of the development of its Law School, Notre Dame University obtained as a gift from the State Government (arranged by the Minister for Education, Mr Colin Barnett) the former Fremantle Courthouse adjacent to the Drill Hall. It was restored and converted into a Moot Court... The decision of the Western Australian Coalition Government led by the Premier, Richard Court, and supported by all the Labor Opposition (with consequential amendments in 1996 to UNDA’s Act of Parliament), to give the University access to State low interest loans for approved capital works. This important initiative, introduced to Parliament by the Minister for Education, Mr Colin Barnett, on 9 May, 1996, was a major step forward in the capital development and expansion of UNDA’s Fremantle Campus. (In a sense, the measure was put forward as a replacement for the previous State Government’s unfulfilled commitment to UNDA of a land endowment grant.) (reference)
Reference: The Founding and Establishment of Notre Dame, 1986-2014 by Peter Tannock 2014
1922 - 1949 Public Works Department Office
