area. It was normal practice in colonial days for country and regional court houses to be built of timber, often with corrugated iron elements. These buildings were usually single story and unassuming, consisting of little more than two or three rooms arranged longitudinally and surrounded by verandahs on at least three sides. Surviving examples from this period in the tropics include Port Douglas Court House(1879) and Croydon Court House (1887). The 1888 timber court house in Innisfail suffered considerable damage in the devastating cyclone of 1918, which destroyed an estimated 75% of Innisfail's buildings. It was replaced in 1920-1921 with a timber building on high stumps with an iron roof and wide verandahs at front and sides. The courtroom at the rear was detached from the front portion of the building by a passage. The building also housed offices for various government departments as well as shops. In the design of Colonial and State Government buildings in Queensland, there is considerable continuity, particularly in the use of timber as the predominant material, and in details of composition. Some of the design details in common use in government buildings, particularly from mid 1880s onwards, are window hoods, eaves details, gable decorations, verandah balustrades and roof vents. While many of these elements including timber composition were common to many buildings in Queensland from early on, government buildings such as court houses, post offices, schools, and police stations for example, can be distinguished from the common mode by the high standard of architectural composition, the careful detailing, and the attention to climate - as evidenced in the use of sun shading devices, ventilation systems, and the overhang of eaves beyond the verandah edges. Many buildings constructed in Innisfail after the 1918 cyclone, demonstrate particular adaptations to cyclonic conditions. That many destroyed timber structures were re-built in reinforced concrete, masonry or rendered to offer some protection from the elements, poses historic inquiry of the 1920-1921 timber court house. It is notable that at least one of the alternative schemes for the new court house featured plans of a grand two-story masonry structure in inter-war free classical style. Indeed, court house architecture of the time set out to impress and awe the unfortunate citizens who were unlucky enough to be involved in the process of the law. As a result, most surviving examples from the 20th century are more permanent and refined masonry structures such