'A pile of buildings' built to last

This chapter is a narrative account of the buildings used by the Supreme Court of Victoria from its founding in 1841to 2016. The buildings include the first purpose-built courthouse on the corner of La Trobe and Russell Streets, Melbourne and the current court on William Street. The Russell Street buildings were demolished in 1910 and the site used for the old Magistrates Court. That building is now part of RMIT University and is furnished with some of the fittings from the old Supreme Court, including the canopy under which Redmond Barry sat to sentence Ned Kelly to death. The current court complex is facing an uncertain future as the needs of the Supreme Court move apace with the twenty-first century