An aboriginal corporation has won ownership of a NSW country town courthouse carpark, which is being used by staff, police and members of the public.
The NSW Aboriginal Land Council originally lodged a claim to the gravel lot, located on the corner of Oak and Church streets in Leeton, in 2020 under legislation allowing land that is not being lawfully used or occupied, or needed for an essential public purpose, to be claimed by indigenous people.
The NSW Crown Lands Department assessed the 1,100sqm lot as “not claimable” in 2023, but the land council appealed and after nearly three years of deliberations the NSW Land and Environment Court found in its favour last week.
The court ruled the block, described as “unsealed, and made up of dirt, rocks and gravel”, was “claimable Crown land” and ordered ownership be transferred to the Leeton and District Local Aboriginal Land Council within six months.
The government fought the claim on the basis the land was did not belong to the Crown as it was acquired for courthouse purposes in 1925, and was being lawfully used and occupied as a carpark, including by NSW Police officers, a Corrective Services NSW employee, the Leeton Courthouse registrar, a visiting magistrate to the courthouse, and members of the public.
In an affidavit sworn in 2024, court registrar of 20 years George Paniz said the lot was commonly referred to as the “Leeton Courthouse Carpark”, was in active use, and that “there was no occasion he recalled when there was not at least one car parked”.
Community Corrections officer Nadia Brighenti and NSW Police Inspector Justin Cornes also swore affidavits saying they parked on the block of land, and Inspector Cornes wrote that it formed “part of the site of the Police Station and Courthouse which provides parking for both buildings and the public”.
He said there were usually 10 to 15 cars parked there daily, and up to 30 during events held at a nearby park or church.
But the court found the usage was not legally authorised under Crown land laws, and therefore could not defeat a claim made under the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983.
It is unclear what the aboriginal land council intends to do with the site, or whether it will continue to be used as a carpark.
A spokesperson for the NSW Aboriginal Land Council told Region last year it claimed the land as it had been vacant for over 100 years after being acquired for the construction of the courthouse in 1924 but never built on.
“This is a good example of the aboriginal land claim process being an effective tool to return land to aboriginal people and create opportunities to activate underutilised land for the benefit of the broader community,” the spokesperson said.
Header image: Left, right, the gravel lot next to the courthouse (Google Maps).
