By Dongyun Kwon
To celebrate the completion of the maintenance work for the Old Healesville Courthouse, the Healesville U3A hosted a special event to express gratitude to all those involved in the maintenance program, as well as to acknowledge the significance of the building.
The Old Healesville Courthouse is owned by the state government and managed by the local government, and has been the home of Healesville U3A since 2017.
The event was held on Tuesday 13 May.
The MC, Ethne Pfeiffer, the current president of Healesville U3A, introduced three guest speakers; two past Healesville U3A presidents, Julian Higgs and John Pascoe, and Ryrie Ward councillor Fiona McAllister.
Mr Higgs took the presidential position between 2012 and 2017 and worked closely with Cr McAllister to get the new home in 2017.
“There was an article in the local paper announcing that the tourist information centre, which was housed here at that stage, was going to shut down,” he said.
“I saw an opportunity here. It didn’t take me long to get in contact with our councillor, Fiona McAllister, saying that I felt this was something we’d be very interested in, and I did the same with the council officers who we liaise with at that time.
“(The Yarra Ranges Council) gave us the courthouse, and shortly after, the council did also approve the recurrent funding for all the U3As.”
Mr Higgs also thanked Eildon MP Cindy McLeish, who helped get the contract signed off by the state government.
Cr McAllister said she was grateful for Healesville U3A members and the Yarra Ranges Council team who put in the effort to look after the historical building.
“This was built in a community in 1890 with 100 people. It was the Court of Petty Sessions, which has been renamed the Magistrates Court now, for a very long time in our community, and then we know its iteration as the tourist information centre, where, again, it was about learning about our place and our town,” she said.
“Many years ago, local governments’ remit under our legislation, our Local Government Act, was about improving the overall quality of life for everyone who lives here and visits now and into the future, and that’s always my check.
“We’ve supported connection to the place, which is important in our towns and for our community, treasuring this building and making it last another 10, 20, 30 years. We support well-being by supporting U3A because everything you do is about what I, as a psychologist, would call the five ways to well-being; connection, learning, passion, (taking notice), and giving.”
The Old Healesville Courthouse was one of five timber courthouses in Victoria.
With the new home, Healesville U3A has expanded its service to the wider community.
It now has over 300 memberships, running more than 30 programs every week during terms.
The maintenance work for the historical building took about six weeks from the beginning of February to mid-April.
John Pascoe, former president of Healesville U3A between 2021 and 2024, said the further the maintenance team went, the more they found to fix.
“The building’s been restumped. The weatherboards have been replaced,” he said.
“The roof has been reclaimed, it’s been totally cleaned out. The hardwood has been repainted.
“There was a new ramp put on for access, and then these hearths were put in because the building had fallen so much that there were cracks and they were sticking up all over the place. We just took out the old concrete and put in new ones after being restumped.”
After the speeches, attendees enjoyed refreshments in the courthouse building.
