The Court House served the town for almost 100 years, the last case being heard in 1975. From the early 1970s the building was used informally by the Historical Society.
In 2007 the Department of Sustainability and Environment formally handed over the management of the building to three trustees from the Historical Society. It is now the official home of the Historical Society.
The Court House contains the original 'Court' furniture. The Magistrate's room and the Clerk's room are now used as Research rooms for the use of members and the general public.
With the assistance of various grants the interior of the building has been painted and other maintenance work carried out to assist in the preservation of the building.
In 2008 the Victorian Police Department donated the old police lockup to the Historical Society and it was moved from its old location, behind the police residence, to its new home at the rear of the Court House.
The Mount Rouse and District Historical Society was formed in 1974 by a group of local residents with a common interest in the preservation of Historical material. The Society collects, catalogues, files and maintains Historical Records, Maps and Photographs and makes them available for public access in the Society’s rooms at the old Penshurst courthouse.
The Court House is open from 9.30am to 12.30pm on the first Saturday of each month and on special occasions or by special appointment.
Penshurst is situated around 30 kilometres south east of Hamilton and about 75 kilometres north west of Warrnambool in Western Victoria.
Penshurst stands at the foot of volcanic Mount Rouse and has a population of around 500 residents.
The land around Penshurst is connected to the Kolorer Gundidj clan of the Djab wurrung speaking people.
Kolorer Gundidj means ‘belonging to Kolor’, which is the Indigenous name for the volcanic mount also known as Mt Rouse.
The Mount Rouse Shire Council was established in 1864 and included the towns of Dunkeld and Glenthompson.
In 1994 the Mount Rouse Shire merged with the Hamilton based Southern Grampians Shire.
Penshurst is noted not only for its volcanic tourism but also for the large number of bluestone buildings which remain intact.
The Never Ending Spring, the Wetlands and the Botanical Gardens are also enjoyable attractions in the town.
Some of the records held by the Mount Rouse & District Historical Society are:
All requests for local and family research can be emailed using our contact form.
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