Conservation House, (former Courthouse) 59 Marine Parade, Napier, Hawk's Bay, North Island, New Zealand.
Conservation House, (former Courthouse) 59 Marine Parade, Napier, New former Courthouse was designed by William Henry Clayton (1823-77) the first and only Colonial Architect. The former Napier Courthouse is a timber framed structure clad with weatherboards; it has a roof structure support by heavy timber trusses with galvanised iron sheathing, and it is set on timber pile foundations. It is a two-storied building characterised by the use of simple classical elements for timber construction and is a fine example of colonial public architecture of the 1870’s. The Napier Courthouse was constructed between 1874 and 1875 at an estimated cost of £3, The successful tenderer was probably Edward Ashton who was a builder in Shakespeare Road in 1874 since the plans for the building are signed “Ed Ashton”. The building was probably finished by April 1875 because there is a note from the Sheriff, John T Tylee, saying that Constable R Smith had been placed in charge of the new Supreme Court building. Robert Smith was still the custodian and office cleaner in 1877. The Courthouse was opened by Chief Justice Prendergast on, or about Monday 31 May 1875. Dinwiddie in “Old Hawke’s Bay” says: “The Supreme Court Building was completed the same year (1875) and opened by Chief Justice Prendergast who then made his first official visit to Napier. (Herald June 2nd 1875)”. The Napier Courthouse was the centre of Justice in Hawke’s Bay. The police, the Registrar of Pensions, the births, Deaths, and Marriages department, the Bailiff, Lawyers, the Magistrate’s Court, the Maori Land Court, the Law Library, the Law Society, and the Custodian were all accommodated in, or closely associated with, the Courthouse at different times. The building was acquired by the Department of Conservation in 1989 and currently houses the Hawke's Bay District Office of the Department.
Size: 5759px × 3840px
Location: Conservation House, (former Courthouse) 59 Marine Parade, Napier, New Zealand.
Photo credit: © David Shield / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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