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A core group of around 15 local volunteer members, have carried out the restoration & maintenance of the old Courthouse building, the setting up of the MUSEUM and the never ending task of raising the funds to allow our work to continue.

JAMIESON COURTHOUSE
Built in 1864, it was the first Courthouse built on the then thriving Upper Goulburn Goldfields and signalled the arrival of law and order to the district.
Designed by H.A. Williams, a draftsman for the Public Works Department, built on a sandstone base with a slate roof, from local handmade bricks, made at Thompsons Brickyard on what is now the Licola Road.
The brickyard closed after a short time so only two buildings in the town are built from these bricks, the Courthouse and St. Peters Anglican Church in Grey St.
A County Court, Court of Mines and Court of Petty Sessions, in the early days cases were heard monthly, in later years the court was in session less often. The last two cases to be heard in the court were in 1974 one was an inquiry into the death of a worker on the Thompson Dam, the other into a death which occurred in a car accident on the Woods Point Road. Part of the building continued to be used as the police station until 1977.

RESTORATION
In the mid 1980s the old Jamieson Courthouse was earmarked for sale or demolition by the Justice Department. Seeing the potential for use by the community as a site from which to provide some much needed services, a group of concerned local citizens successfully stepped in to save the old building.
Being of historical significance, in 1988 the building was listed with the National Estate, the building now belongs to Parks Victoria, and is administered by their Historic Buildings Committee. In 1989 the department granted the Jamieson community, a 20 year lease for the building on the condition it be restored.
When the Jamieson & District Historical Society Inc. was formed in 1991 this group of volunteers was appointed Committee of Management, taking on the responsibility for the restoration and maintenance of the building.
In 1988 the building was a sad sight, drooping verandahs, slate was missing and the roof leaked badly, spouting and down pipes were rusted away, most windows were broken, the floors were rotten and needed re-stumping and the entire building needed painting inside and out. Since then over $60,000 has been spent on the restoration, of this almost $50,000 was raised locally, and thousands of voluntary hours were put in on the project, a huge effort for a town with a permanent population of around 100.

CURRENT USE OF THE JAMIESON COURTHOUSE
Now the restoration is complete the building is being put to good use, and it is not just restricted to the past, as the building is not only a Museum & the headquarters of the Historical Society, it also provides the town with a weekly Community Heath Centre and Doctors Clinic.
The Doctor is in attendance from 10am every Tuesday and the Health Centre is open 2 pm to 5pm every Thursday.
In our eyes this is a great advance from 10 years ago when a visit to either service involved a 70 km round trip.

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