Regional Heritage Australia

The magnificent Bathurst Courthouse, New South Wales, was opened in 1880 in the heart of the city. Designed by James Barnett, the Colonial Architect of New South Wales, it is built in the Victorian free classical style of local brick with sandstone detailing. One of the finest of the state’s courthouse buildings, the Bathurst Courthouse was added to the NSW Heritage Register in 1999.

The photograph is by Harley Kingston / Shutterstock.com. 

The splendid Marvel Bar Hotel was built in 1898 in the then-prosperous gold-mining town of Coolgardie, Western Australia. Today the town has fewer than 800 residents, but in 1898 it was the third largest in the colony, with a population of 15,000. The two-storey building with its elaborate stuccoed façade is testament to the town’s civic confidence around the turn of the century. The hotel operated until 1927, and the building subsequently housed the local RSL Club. Today it is a private residence.  In 2012 the Marvel Bar Hotel was placed on the Heritage Council of Western Australia’s Register of Heritage Places.

The photograph is by Adwo / Shutterstock.com.   

The town of Gawler was established in 1839, the first regional settlement in the colony of South Australia. The Gawler Institute was formed in 1857 as an educational society based on democratic principles. The Gawler Institute building was completed in 1871 and included a free lending library, reading room and museum. Likely designed by industrialist and mayor James Martin, it was built in the Italianate style of local bluestone. The adjacent bluestone Town Hall was designed by WH Abbott and opened in 1878. The elaborate balustrade parapet with ornate urns and false central pediment contains the Gawler coat of arms.  Both buildings were placed on the South Australian Heritage Register in 1980.

The photograph is reproduced courtesy of the Town of Gawler.