The Old Port Macquarie Courthouse was built in 1869 and served as the town's court until 1991, making it one of the longest continuously used colonial courthouses in New South Wales. The building is now a museum focused on justice and legal history, with the original courtroom and holding cells preserved and open to visitors.
The courtroom is set up as it would have appeared in session, with the judge's bench, dock, and public gallery intact. Exhibitions explore the history of the penal settlement and the development of law on the mid-north coast, with particular attention to the cases tried here — ranging from sheep stealing to bushranging to manslaughter.
The building is heritage-listed and architecturally significant as an example of 19th-century colonial institutional design. Combined with the nearby First Burying Ground and St Thomas' Church, it forms part of a compact historic precinct that can be visited in a half-day walking loop.