THE historic Natimuk Courthouse has officially opened after it had fallen into disrepair and permanently closed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Arapiles Historical Society president Peter French said the building had been closed since about 2009 as it had major structural problems.
“We wanted to open it back up to the public and show people how it looked,” he said.
Mr French said there had been major works on the building over the past few years.
“We had to underpin the foundation, patch up cracks and do structural steel work on the outside,” he said.
“We also re-painted the inside not long ago.”
Mr French said the society now hoped to have regular open days for the building.
“We haven’t worked out a schedule for that yet, but we hope we can open it at least once a month,” he said.
The courthouse will also form part of the town’s museum precinct.
“It’s not just a courthouse – it was originally the historical society museum,” Mr French said.
“We are setting up the building as an exhibition space now and at the moment it is home to a display of old photographs and other items.
“We hope to rotate the items through the museum, so there are new exhibits every three to six months.
“It will go with the Natimuk museum precinct, which includes the old garage and the masonic hall.”
Mr French said the opening on Sunday included speeches from society members and afternoon tea.
Horsham Mayor Heather Phillips officially opened the courthouse.
She said it was brilliant to see the historic building open again.
“It’s been a really long process and a difficult one for council because we had to somehow find the money to restore the building,” she said.
“The process dates back to the mid-1960s when the building could have potentially been either sold or fallen down in disrepair.”
Cr Phillips said the opening was the culmination of a community fight that had been going on for about 50 years.
“To have it all basically repaired is fantastic,” she said.
“There is still just one corner that people can’t go in yet.”
Cr Phillips said there were more people at the opening than anyone had anticipated.
“It shows that a lot of people have a real fondness for that building,” he said.
