The Hargraves Courthouse Advisory Committee was established in 2006 as a result of a call by Mid Western Regional Council for volunteers to oversee the restoration and preservation of the historical Hargraves Courthouse.

This committee’s aim was to:

• to represent the interests of the local community in the preservation and restoration of the Hargraves courthouse,
• to advise and observe the use of allocated funding,
• to advise on the appropriate use of the building and grounds,
• to provide for and collect information and feedback from the local community for input into the project,
• and to provide assistance as appropriate and required in the implementation of activities surrounding the project.

To this end the committee has overseen re-wiring of the main building, roofing, establishments of toilets, building of verandah and fence around the garden of the Courthouse and to secure the building with appropriate locks.
Wishing to see the building being opened to the community and in use, the Committee has organised several events including annual Christmas Carols, Australia Day Poetry competition, open days and working bees.

In recent months the Committee was approached by the local craft group (now the Hargraves Isolated Womens Support Group) to be able to use the buildings on a fortnightly basis. This group has painted three rooms in the residential area of the courthouse building, and have furnished it with tables, chairs, and other items which facilitate their activities. The committee is very pleased with their efforts and every one is impressed with how homely the courthouse now appears.

The District Nurse travels out form Mudgee fortnightly, coinciding with the craft days, and makes use of the privacy of one of the rooms at the Courthouse buildings. The Mid Western Regional Council’s library van librarians have also undertaken to call in at the Courthouse on their visits to the village.
So it is wonderful to see the courthouse so much in use.
More work needs to be done on the actual courtroom, and the kitchen area at the back of the complex. This will require the application of more grant assistance before these areas.