However, due to financial constraints and delays caused by labour shortages during the Gold Rush period, the station was completed as a modest two-storey building.
The buildings were affected by a number of alterations and additions caused by changes to the nature of the courts and the business they attracted.
[1] In 1913 the Water Police who lived at the station were removed to their new accommodation on the north-western side of the Quay at Dawes Point, providing two locations for their activities.
[1] By 1924 special arrangements had been made for hearing traffic offences in the Water Police Court in addition to those concerning shipping, military trainees and children.
[1] The Friends of the Historic Houses Trust have been responsible for fundraising through interpretive tours and events to acquire the Neville]Locker collection of convict artefacts for Hyde Park Barracks and the Police & Justice Museum.
[1] The flat roof area at the rear is covered in copper and contains three glazed skylights with steel grilles.
It consists of an arched colonnaded portico, also roofed with a pediment to match the detail of the earlier Blacket Court Building.
[1] The Police Station Area is a two-storey Pyrmont sandstone building of simple Classical style with a pediment over the central section of the front facade.
Architecturally and culturally they evoke a system of social control and relate to a specific power relationship.
[11] The site's proximity to the waters of Sydney Cove; its close and long continuing association with the colony and its classical architectural syntax and indeed, endearingly human scale, provides an important foil to multi-storeyed buildings and Circular Quay.
[1][12] Justice and Police Museum was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.
In their present form they demonstrate the architectural response to demands imposed by policing trends in the 19th century.
[13][1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.
[13][1] The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
The reconstruction as of c. 1899 of the court and police station provide a unique opportunity to demonstrate the working relationship between the two in an experiential and interactive context and manner.
While it may disseminate information about the aims and methods of these institutions it should maintain an independent role as a commentator and interpreter.
[13][1] This Wikipedia article contains material from Justice and Police Museum, entry number 673 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 13 October 2018.