Built by Clinch & Lloyd in 1901, this courthouse was designed by the Government Architect John Campbell in the Edwardian Baroque style. The courthouse closed in 1979, reopening in 1982 as the Temuka museum.

• Heritage NZ Inventory - Link: https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/1991/Listing
• District Council Heritage - Link: https://www.timaru.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/673935/Historic-Heritage-Assessment-Report-HHI113-Former-Temuka-Courthouse-Temuka-Historical-Society-Courthouse-Museum-Category-A.pdf

This courthouse building was constructed in 1901 and replaced an earlier timber courthouse dating from 1871, which was removed from the site in 1900.

It was designed in the Edwardian Baroque style by the government’s Public Works Department. The name of John Campbell appears on the drawings and it is assumed that he was the principal designer of the building.

It was built by local contractors Clinch & Lloyd and was used for the first time in its official capacity as a courthouse in April 1901.

In 1911 a brick addition was constructed at the south-west corner of the Courthouse building, to provide a room for electoral business. A small mortuary was erected in 1928 at the south-east corner of section.

This building also had an identical twin, which was built in Bluff in 1905, but that building was demolished in 1964.

In 1979, after over 70 years serving as Temuka’s courthouse, the building was closed. It was sold to Temuka and Districts Historical Society who re-opened it in 1982 as the town’s museum.

Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand describes the former Temuka Courthouse as ‘one of the finest small-town public buildings’ in the country.

In 2023 the building restored, earthquake strengthened and re-fitted with the museum’s collection.

The museum is open to the public for a limited period on Sunday afternoons between the end of October and early June.