The Former Leongatha Court House – McCartin Street, Leongatha

            Built along Leongatha’s premier strip, McMartin Street, in the very heart of the town, the former Leongatha Court House was erected in 1912.

Built by architect firm Frogley and Smith at 2 McCartin Street, the former court house was the first permanent court building to be constructed in Leongatha, and only the third throughout the shire.  It is a historically significant building because it demonstrates the development of public institutions in the shire.  It also shows the growing importance of Leongatha as a commercial and civic centre in the shire by the early part of the Twentieth Century.  Other significant civic architecture, such as the nearby Mechanics’ Institute and Leongatha Masonic Hall were constructed in the same year.  The court house served as a magistrate’s court and a place for the sale of crown land up until 1990 when it finally shut its heavy wooden doors.  Today, it still serves a purpose for the local community; as the home for the local brass band, who practice in the lofty surrounds of the courtroom.  Commissioned by the Public Works Department, it is an integral part of a highly important group of civic buildings that are an essential part of the historical character of Leongatha. 

The former Leongatha Court House is a notable example of Federation Free Style architecture, a style which grew from William Morris’ Arts and Crafts Movement.  In Britain, civic architects struggled with applying the handmade, modest principles of the Arts and Crafts movement when it came to design of much larger commercial and institutional buildings which were not in urban settings.  As these architects did dot stick specifically to dogmas established by William Morris, but their buildings were in the spirit of the style, their work was dubbed “Free Style”.  Free Style designers often used asymmetrical planning, combined two or more traditional walling materials such as brick, stone and roughcast for visual contrast, created piers projecting above parapets, and touches of Art Nouveau were often introduced, especially in the lettering applied to the facades of the buildings they created.  All these elements appear in the former Leongatha Court House.     

Leongatha is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located 135 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. The town is the civic, commercial, industrial, religious, educational and sporting centre of the region.   The Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co. Limited, is a farmers' co-operative which trades in Australia under the Devondale label, and has a dairy processing plant just north of the town producing milk-based products for Australian and overseas markets.  First settlement of the area by Europeans occurred in 1845. The Post Office opened as Koorooman on 1 October 1887 and renamed Leongatha in 1891 when a township was established on the arrival of the railway.  The Daffodil Festival is held annually in September. Competitions are held and many daffodil varieties are on display. A garden competition is also held and there are many beautiful examples throughout the provincial town.  The South Gippsland Railway runs historical diesel locomotives and railcars between the market and dairy towns of Nyora and Leongatha, passing through Korumburra.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Leongatha (show map)

Taken on: January 10, 2013

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Leongatha Magistrate's Court

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Sets appears in: • Leongatha the Gippsland Dairy Town • The Former Leongatha Court House

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/3.5, 1/500 sec, 9.7mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	9.7mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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