June 2024 – Tasmanian Supreme Court Bicentenary

200^th Anniversary of the First Sitting of the Supreme Court of Van Diemens Land 

The Supreme Court of Tasmania recently celebrated the 200^th anniversary of the first sitting of the Supreme Court of Van Diemens Land. Created by the Third Charter of Justice in 1824, the first sitting of the Court occurred in Hobart Town on 10 May 1824.  Predating the Supreme Court in NSW by one week! 

The National Trust worked with partners from the Supreme Court and the State Library of Tasmania worked to put together a range of events to mark the day. As well as court related archive material being on show at the State Library and a ceremonial sitting of the court, The Hobart Penitentiary offered  walking tours that visited all three Supreme Court buildings.

The Court was based at the Hobart Penitentiary site for almost 120 years. The tours, which were all fully subscribed, were met at the new Supreme Court by some special guides, the Chief Justice Alan Blow and Justice Stephen Estcourt, who launched his book “From Convicts to Computers: Two Hundred Years of the Tasmanian Supreme Court” as part of the celebrations.

Copies of the book are available from the Penitentiary Gift Shop.