Customs House, Melbourne

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Immigration Museum, Melbourne
Immigration Museum in Old Customs House
Immigration Museum, Melbourne is located in Melbourne
Immigration Museum, Melbourne
Location of the museum in Melbourne
Established1998 (1998)
LocationMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates37°49′09″S 144°57′37″E / 37.8191°S 144.9604°E / -37.8191; 144.9604
TypeCulture museum
ArchitectDaryl Jackson (1998)
Websitemuseumsvictoria.com.au
Old Customs House
Interactive map of the Old Customs House area
General information
Architectural style
Renaissance Revival
LocationFlinders Street
Groundbreaking1856
Completed1876 (1876)
Design and construction
Architects
Official name
Former Customs House
TypeRegistered Place
Designated8 September 1994
Reference no.H1047
HO661
Categories
  • Government and Administration
  • Recreation and Entertainment
Official name
Old Customs House, Melbourne
TypeDefunct register
Designatedundated
Reference no.5194

The Immigration Museum is a culture museum that focuses on the immigration history of Melbourne and Victoria. Opened in 1998 as a division of Museums Victoria, Immigration Museum is located at the restored Customs House building on Flinders Street, in the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[1]

The former Customs House building was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 8 September 1994 in recognition of its historical and architectural significance;[2] and, on an unknown date, was added to the now defunct Register of the National Estate.[3]

History

The first Customs House on this site next to the original river port was a tent, which was replaced by a two storey bluestone building in 1841. The great increase in wealth and trade of the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s led to a much more impressive design by Peter Kerr with a grand portico above prominent stairs, begun in 1856–58, but never fully completed. In 1873-76, the remainder of the building was built, with a simpler entrance facade in Renaissance Revival style, designed by Kerr with John James Clark and A E Johnson in the Public Works Department.[2] The end result is one of Melbourne's grandest 19th century public buildings. Across the rear at first floor level, dramatic scale of the columned Long Room emphasised the importance of the Customs department.[4]

The site was listed in 1948 as one of the key sites for the modernisation of Melbourne, when 11 storey £750,000 Customs House office tower was proposed.[5]

Customs officers moved out in 1965, and the building was used as the Melbourne offices for the members of the Federal Parliament, and the interiors were variously altered.

Vacant since the early 1990s, it was then decided to create a museum of immigration. Designed by Daryl Jackson, the building was extensively restored and upgraded, with small extensions to the rear.

See also

Reference

  1. "Celebrating Victorian communities". Museums Victoria.
  2. "Former Customs House, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1047, Heritage Overlay HO661". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  3. "Old Customs House, Melbourne (Place ID 5194)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  4. "Old Customs House". Museums Victoria.
  5. "NEW CITY BUILDING WILL CHANGE MELBOURNE SKYLINE". The Herald. No. 22, 274. Victoria, Australia. 11 October 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 13 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.

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