Ayr Magistrates Court

Story

Ayr Court House is a heritage-listed courthouse at 163 Queen Street, Ayr, Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Douglas Francis Woodcraft Roberts and built from 1935 to 1941 by day labour. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.HistoryConstructed in 1935 on a site adjacent to the existing 1897 court house, this was the third court house in Ayr.The Burdekin River region was first settled in the 1860s, and the town of Ayr was surveyed in 1882. Tenders was called for a Court House and Police Station in Ayr in late 1882, and a building was erected in 1883 which comprised the police quarters, lock-up and court room. This building was situated on Allotment 6, bounded by Queen, Khedive (now Mackenzie), Omar (now Graham) and Bey (now Young) Streets. The Post and Telegraph Office and Residence were also located on this block. The town grew in support of the increasing number of sugar plantations and small sugar growers establishing themselves in the Burdekin region.By late 1896 the court room was inadequate for court purposes. Construction on a new court house commenced in 1897, the former room being taken over for use by the police. The new court house was built on a site south east of the police building, at the corner of Queen and Khedive Streets.Ayr was almost completely destroyed by Cyclone Leonta in 1903; much of the town was rebuilt after the cyclone. Part of the court house roof was damaged during the cyclone.