History
Dunolly Town Hall
was built as the first county court in 1884, before swapping functions with the original Borough of Dunolly Town Hall in 1890.
Some say it was because the judges couldn’t hear the proceedings.
The rear hall was completed in 1892. The portraits and honour boards which still grace the hall record many men active in local business and community life – with no women mentioned until the 1990s!
Historic theatre drops continue to be used for local performances.
Dunolly Court House
was built in 1863 as the original town hall, complete with library, reading room, council chamber and offices
In 1890 the centre of local government in Dunolly moved to the court house on Broadway and the beautiful court furniture and fittings were reconstructed in their present setting. The judge’s robing room and separate entrance were added and the layout modified. The court house operated for a century.
Dunolly police stables, lock up and police station
are beside the court house. The stables and lock up were constructed in 1863 to complete the legal precinct. The three-cell lockup was used until the court house closed in 1981. The stables were converted to a garage sometime before World War Two. All were restored back to their original states in 2014.
the original timber police station is typical of the stations provided by the Police Department in remote and rural areas of Victoria in the 1950s
Tales of the colourful characters to go through the courts and spend time in the lock up are recorded on storyboards around the precinct
