The public will have a rare opportunity to explore historic and modern courtrooms on Saturday, 10 March when the Auckland High Court opens its doors to visitors as part of the Court’s 150-year anniversary celebrations.  

Recognised as one of Auckland’s architectural gems, the historic Courthouse has been operating on its Waterloo Quadrant site since February 1868.

Originally a Māori pā (Te Reuroa) the land on which the Court was built was sold by Ngāti Whātua to Governor Hobson in 1840.

The public event will include guided tours of the modern and historic courtrooms and cells; displays and archive news-footage featuring notable cases from the past, and a mock trial.

Visitors will be able to join tours focusing on different aspects of the Court complex. Tours will run every 20 minutes, with final tours commencing 3:40pm.

The mock trial, a 30-minute vignette loosely based on a notorious 1930s Auckland murder trial, will be repeated throughout the day.