Courtroom Drama

At Howick Historical Village we have a court room which has a long history of punishing people who broke the rules of the time.

The building itself was saved from being demolished at a time when many people thought 'it’s old, knock it down' and we lost many heritage buildings in New Zealand.

The cases tried in the court fall into the Civil 'petty' category. Petty comes from the French word 'petit' meaning small. That means petty theft, name calling, playing cricket on a Sunday, horses speeding through Howick and profanity in public spaces.

The Court is run by Magistrates - they ask questions, make decision and sentence the defendant. Magistrates are local well-respected people whose judgements are considered sound.

Why not transport yourself back to the Howick Court and re-enact a court case, 'People versus Mr Needle' or the very prestigious court case 'The Fairy tale Felons.'

If you take on the challenge please share your plays with us at the village on our facebook or Instagram page.