Former Courthouse and Police Station
Description
A rectilinear, gable ended former Courthouse and Police Station with a parapeted portico with concave verandah to either side. Attached at the rear are ancillary rooms and cells within an enclosed courtyard. Walls are constructed of limestone with red brick quoins. The roof is clad with corrugated iron. Gable ends have rendered brick parapets. Windows and doors have square headed openings with timber framed windows. The portico window has a semi-circular opening.
History
Prior to the construction of a courthouse, a court was held in the Emu Hotel on Main South Road.
The land for the courthouse was donated by Alexander Anderson, licensee of the Emu Hotel and Chairman of Morphett Vale District Council in 1855. Tenders were called in 1854 and the building was completed in 1855. Externally, the building remains substantially unaltered.
The Morphett Vale Court, along with the Police Station moved to Christies Beach in 1962.
The building was subsequently purchased by the Anglican Church who undertook substantial internal alterations and renamed the building St Hilary of Poitiers Church. Services were held in the rearranged courtroom area until a new church was constructed nearby in 1983.
The courthouse complex remains in the ownership of the Anglican Church and is still used as a meeting place and for storage.
Photos courtesy of: Bruce Harry and Associates (2003) and City of Onkaparinga Libraries.