Story: Judicial system

A group of unidentified men stand outside the Christchurch Magistrates Court, probably in the early 1900s. The building survived the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 with some damage. Resident magistrates' courts were established in 1846 and in 1893 were renamed magistrates' courts. They dealt with both criminal and civil matters and continued to sit until 1980, when they were renamed district courts.