Former Kew Police Station and Court House (Kew)

Built in 1888, Kew Court House is an historic building with an 80-seat theatre. The building is also home to the Kew Historical Society which presents displays and exhibitions of items related to the history of the area and provides information for anyone interested in the area's history.

The former Kew Police Station and Court House which served the community in that role from 1888 to 2002 has been restored and still has some cells on display (which you can see inside but not enter) and a range of information boards detailing its history.

Constable James McGrath, the station's first Officer-in-Charge, came to Kew with a reputation as a 'strict disciplinarian and a terror to evil doers'. Eventually he came to love this place so much that he refused any promotion above sergeant so that could remain here- his service spanned 27 years.

Offences committed at Kew during McGrath's time included horse and cattle stealing, highway robbery, house and shop theft and assault. In the days of horses and carts, police also fined Kew residents for driving on footpaths and not lighting wagons or carts at night. Police officers also recaptured inmates who had escaped from the nearby Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum.

Completed in 1888, the Kew Court House and Police Station is unique in Victoria for being a 19th century public building designed to combine police, court and post office functions.The building, then known as 'Kew Public Offices', was designed in the 'Queen Anne Style' either by the Public Works Department architect GW Watson or JH Harvey under Watson's supervision. It took over a year for builder P Platt of East Melbourne to complete. Local people were very happy with the new building, with the Kew Mercury describing it in 1888 as 'the most conspicuous pile of buildings in the business portion of Kew'.

It is interesting to compare the 'Queen Anne' design of the Kew Public Offices with that of the Prahran Court House and Police Station. The Prahran building was designed and constructed by the same branch of the Public Works Department at the same time, but in a Gothic Revival style. At this time staff within the department held personal preferences that probably led to these two vastly different building styles.

Kew Court House opened in 1888 and held Courts of Petty Sessions, which typically dealt with cases of public drunkenness, minor assaults, robbery and breaches of by-laws. Murder, arson and rape - then punishable with the death penalty - were heard in Melbourne's Supreme Court.

In the the early 20th century people fronted court at Kew for offences such as failing to send their children to school, failing to have babies vaccinated and leaving livestock unattended in public places. The court also granted licences for hotels, estate agents, auctioneers and even collectors of scrap metal and old bottles!

A lively street trade in cut flowers flourished in 1890s Melbourne and Kew Court saw the results. One early case before the new Court of Petty Sessions involved flower theft when William Douglas was fined 1 pound for damaging plants in Boroondara Cemetery in 1889. In another case at this time, two young girls who had picked flowers from a shrub over a grave received the same penalty and were told they would be gaoled for three months if they re-offended.

Frank Langerate did his best to avoid court and escape prison. Having been found guilty of diamond theft and sentenced to five years in prison on 22 December 1931, Langerate leapt out of the police van the next day while being driven to the Kew Court of Petty Sessions. Hundreds of people watched the chase down the main street. After calling on him to stop, Constable Smyth fired several shots over his head in the busy thoroughfare. Langerate was recaptured and sent to prison.

Moving through 'the system' - When a person was arrested and taken to the Kew Police Station, a police officer recorded his or her personal details and alleged offence or offences in the record books. The police officer then searched the detainee for weapons and other items they might use to hurt themselves or others with, such as belts, shoe laces and cut-throat razors. These objects were recorded in a property book and placed in a store room.

The police officer then placed the prisoner in a cell, either alone or with other prisoners. There he or she would stay until the case was heard over the next few days. Prisoners who were found innocent, or guilty and fined, had their possessions returned and could have the station immediately. Prisoners who were found guilty and given prison sentences were escorted back to the cells to await transfer to a prison. If the magistrate were unable to decide the charge, a prisoner would be remanded on bail or in custody to appear before court at a later date. Prisoners who could not 'make bail' automatically went back to the cells until their cases were decided.

Kew Court House formally closed in 1982 but ceased to operate almost a decade earlier.

Former Kew Police Station and Court House (Kew)

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