Stop 2 Burnie Court House/ The Imperial

• In 1970 the existing Alexander Street court complex was opened by Chief Justice Sir Stanley Burbury.
• A feature of the new courtrooms was their design “in the round”, as a prototype for the new court rooms in Hobart five years later.
• That is, the official part of the Supreme Court room is circular, with its furniture and fittings especially made to keep the round concept. The public end of the room is squared. the advantages being improved accoustics.
• The 164 room building was constructed by North-West Contractors (Burnie) Pty Ltd for a cost of $800,000.
• Decorative features included the extensive use of Tasmanian myrtle, terrazzo on the floor of the main building and Ben Lomond granite on the western elevation.

Link to article in Advocate that discusses the importance of this court design in 1970

https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/6914850/burnie-courts-important-place-in-history/?cs=87

• There are plans to move the court elsewhere, potentially out of town. The community banded together to oppose the relocation out of the CBD, citing the potential loss of business to the CBD area, in addition to limitations for public transport and suitability of proposed new location out of town at the old UTAS site. Petitions have been signed and alternate sites presented, and the state government has agreed, at the time of writing this, to review alternate sites in addition to the proposed site for consideration. What will happen to the current building? Only time will tell.

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