[1] The Newcastle Court House was designed by the Colonial Architect, James Barnet, and construction was supervised by his successor, Walter Liberty Vernon.

In December 2016 the former court house building was sold for A$6.6 million and was converted in an offshore campus for the Nihon University of Japan.

[3][4] The Newcastle Court House is a Victorian Italianate building that provides a terminating focal point to Bolton Street.

The design is symmetrical, comprising a large arched tower entrance to the central Court Room with a recessed portico decorated with classically derived moulded details.

Designed in the Victorian Italianate style it remains substantially intact and a grand example of late 19th century civic architecture within the town.