Gympie Court House

This landmark structure on the corner of King and Channon Streets is the third courthouse constructed in Gympie. The first was a timber slab building erected in the late 1860s. It was replaced in 1876, with a substantial masonry court house in Channon Street; now the home of the Australian Institute of Country Music. When the Channon Street building proved inadequate, a new site was chosen and land purchased from the Queensland National Bank and a private owner. The new courthouse was designed by John S Murdoch of the Department of Public Works. Tenders were called in 1900, but the first tenders exceeded the 5000 pounds allocated for the project and the design had to be altered. Bundaberg builder Edward Boyle won the revised contract and Anton Hettrich supervised construction, which was completed in 1902. The clock tower became a popular place to view and photograph the town. The original roof was redesigned and reconstructed in 1907, but this did not rectify the ongoing leaking roof. The entire roof was replaced in 1940 with a simple gable structure. While some redesign of internal spaces occurred during the 1960s and 70s, the building retains its original features.