Do you love history? Have you ever wanted to participate in a mock trial? Well the Historic Court Society of Port Macquarie has an event for you.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The volunteer group is hosting a community celebration on Saturday, September 14, at the courthouse on Clarence Street to celebrate 150 years of the local historic court.
Tony Lanzafame, president of the Historic Court Society said the anniversary was going to be a great community event.
"During September we will be celebrating 150 years of the Historic Court House in Port Macquarie," Mr Lanzafame said.
"No one knows exactly when the court was officially open but we are holding our celebrations on September 14.
"The historic court house was instrumental in keeping law and order in the early days of Port Macquarie and the court house has a lot of history that we have preserved."
Mr Lanzafame said the open day was a chance to celebrate the rich history with trial re-enactments happening all day.
"On the day we will be having mock court proceedings with volunteers and members of the public invited to take part in the celebrations," he said.
"We are going back to the year 1897 and we will be putting Port Macquarie-Hastings mayor Peta Pinson on trial for impersonating a male to obtain a position of power.
"It will all be a bit of fun and the mayor has graciously agreed to help us celebrate because back then women could not vote and definitely could not be voted into public office.
"We will also be hosting a few other trials for the community to take part in and we hope everyone comes along excited to take a step back in time."
The celebrations will take place between 10am and 2pm with the mayor going on trial at 11.45am. If you would like to participate in the trial please be at the courthouse by 11.30am.
"All our volunteer will be dressed up and we will have a convict out the front of the courthouse to greet people as they come in.
"The society has done a lot of work restoring the four room building to how it would have been set up. So if you like history or having a bit of fun come on down and join us."
Entry is by gold coin donation.
What else is making news?
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.
