The building was erected as a court house between 1836 - 1837, and in those days stood close to the original shoreline of the Swan River.  Today it stands next to the Supreme Court, and ranks as the hardest to find Perth heritage building.  With the surrounding land reclaimed from the river, the Old Perth Court House lost it's prime shoreline position.

The Old Perth Court House.

It is a rather simple looking building of Georgian style architecture.  Though at the time of it's construction, most of the colony's population still lived in bush huts.  The building was designed by Mr Henry Reveley, Perth's first civil engineer.  It is of stone rubble construction, and is rendered to present a more pleasing appearance.  With a shortage of quality buildings during the early years of the colony, the Court House served many different community uses.

The Top Ten Uses for the
Old Perth Court House were:
 

The Law Society of W.A. finally got their hands on the building, and it is currently known as the Francis Burt Law Education Centre.  Now living in the shadow of the Supreme Court (and various other high rise buildings), it is a somewhat forgotten chapter in the history of Perth.

The best way to locate this lost icon, is to walk through Stirling Gardens on the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street.  Stirling Gardens were officially opened in 1845, and are the oldest botanical gardens in Perth.  In fact the site was set aside for botanical purposes in 1829, and was originally used as an acclimatisation garden for introduced species.  These included grapes and imported fruits.  The Old Court House is hidden in the far corner behind the Perth City Council House. 

The Stirling Gardens.

LOCATION:  4 Barrack Street, Perth.  If you are lucky enough to find it.