There will have been plenty of legal stoushes fought in the old Petone courthouse in Elizabeth Street over the years. Judges presided over cases of petty thieves and murderers, prostitutes and businessmen.

However, a new battle is developing – this time over the historic courthouse itself. And if you consider how Petone residents have fought recently for issues they feel passionately about, this will be one worth watching.
So what’s it all about?

The grand old courthouse is a marvelous building, but it’s been derelict for years. Like many old buildings in Petone, it needs earthquake strengthening. Hutt City Council says that if the building is to remain standing, the work must be done. The council doesn’t like to entertain the thought that the building will be demolished, but it might be caught between the proverbial rock and hard place.

The courthouse is owned by the Wellington Institute of Technology (Weltec). It has obligations to ensure efficient learning for its students, and must always consider costs carefully. Knocking the courthouse down and making use of the land makes good economic sense. Restoring it, with all the costs of earthquake strengthening, doesn’t.
Local historian Warwick Johnston is rightly dismayed that he might one day stroll along Elizabeth Street and find the site strewn with rubble, the last vestiges of the building carted away in a demolition truck.

Local film star Geraldine Brophy, in China where she is promoting her latest film, Second Hand Wedding, at the Shanghai Film Festival, will be equally upset if the courthouse goes. In an interview recently in Jackson Street Scene, Brophy said she was keen to see the building used for local theatre productions and other performances, such as string quartets or poetry readings.

The idea is gaining some traction. But here’s the rub – who’s going to pay for it?

Earthquake strengthening could be $250,000, add an equal amount for a reasonable fitout, and again for the cost of buying the site, and we’re talking fair sums of money.

However, it’s not money that can’t be found. A “Save the Courthouse” committee will undoubtedly be established very soon. It will find that various pots of funding can at least be applied for. The council could well kick it off with cash from its earthquake strengthening fund, then there are various arts, historic preservation, and community funders, and not the least, the community itself. Weltec could even reduce costs by having its architecture and building students work on the site as part of their study.

The challenges are formidable, but the pay-off with not only preservation of a historic building, but also the introduction of a new arts facility in Petone, will be well worth the effort.
I can hear the rattle of the donation tins already.