Supreme Court of Victoria

4th March, 2026 

Both Camaron and Nina’s classes left the station at approximately 8:00 AM. By approximately 8:35 AM, both classes arrived at Southern Cross Station and then walked to the Supreme Court. 

Both groups were required to undergo security screening first. Afterwards, each student was handed a visitor's pass and waited in a small corridor that led to two other courtrooms where cases were proceeding. Once our guides had formally introduced themselves, both classes made their way to ‘Courtroom one’ - Victoria's first courtroom that was originally set to house the Federal Parliament (since Victoria used to be the old capital city of Australia). 

Both classes then met with one of the many judges who work at the Supreme Court and his associate for a short Q&A session. After the insightful session, we were escorted to another courtroom, where we witnessed a cross-examination for about half an hour to an hour. But before the cross-examination, we were taken to a vestibule where the traditional red gowns magistrates used to wear were displayed, including the formal wigs the magistrates wore before the judges' costumes had been modernised.

We left the courtroom and spent about 20 minutes at their library. The library contained oil-painted portraits of retired judges, as well as old handwritten documents of previous convicts, such as Ned Kelly. After the tour, both classes concluded the excursion with lunch and socialised for a while before heading home.

-Arishta Gounder

Year 12 Legal Studies Student