I stumbled upon this sentence in the news this morning:
Witnesses are requested to attend at the Melbourne West Police
Station, 313 Spencer Street, Melbourne.
As a general matter, when would you use "attend at (sth.)"? I've been thinking about this for a bit now as it does seem to have a different meaning than "attend." I understand "attend at" to mean "come to" in the example sentence, but "attend" typically implies much more than a mere physical presence (a teacher may spend as much time in school as her class, but that doesn't mean she "attends school").
The one dictionary I found that does specifically mention the phrase is OED ("intr. Const., on the proceedings (obs.), at the place"), giving the example "He attends regularly at the City Temple." But the very brief definition leaves me wondering whether "attend at (sth.)" is completely synonymous with "come to" or conveys any additional meaning.
Best Answer
It is a legal usage of "attend " meaning:
(legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary)
Usage examples:
From A Treatise on the Law and Practice of Bankruptcy:
From A Treatise on the Law of Corporations :