Immigration Museum
The Immigration Museum explores the stories of real people from all over the world who have migrated to Victoria. Located in the Old Customs House in the heart of the city, the museum re-creates the real-life stories of coming to Australia with a rich mix of moving images, personal and community voices, memories and memorabilia.From the reasons for making the journey, to the moment of arrival in a new country, and the impact on indigenous communities, these stories are sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but always engaging. The result is a thought-provoking and moving experience.
Hours: Open daily 10am 5pm. Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day. Entry fees apply.
Contact: 13 11 02 (Victoria only), or (03) 9927 2700.
Location: Old Customs House, 400 Flinders St, Melbourne.
Getting There: on foot or by tram, along Flinders St towards Spencer St.
Three customs buildings have occupied the current site of the Old Customs House, culminating in the existing grand structure. Archaeological digs have revealed the foundations of the earlier buildings, and a detailed restoration project has returned the Customs House to its former glory. A structure described as a 'shabby, leaky, comfortless, weatherboard cabin' was shipped in pieces from Sydney and erected here during the 1830s.
As trade increased, a two-storey bluestone Customs House was completed in 1841. Designed by the Government architect in Sydney, it was Melbourne's first stone building. However, by the 1850s critics called it one of the 'ugliest and most inconvenient of all our public buildings'. With the vast increase in revenue brought by the gold rush, the Victorian Government commissioned immigrant architect Peter Kerr to design a new Customs House. Although the building was occupied by Customs in 1858, a shortage of funds prevented its completion. The building was finally completed in 1876, to a modified design by Kerr and two other government architects.
In this building customs officers recorded all goods entering or leaving Victoria; the customs duties they collected formed the backbone of government revenue. Customs officers also controlled immigration, recording every arrival, and administering a White Australia Policy that excluded immigrants on the basis of their race. Customs officers were also in charge of censorship, determining what material might offend mainstream social values.
This strong classical building is one of Melbourne s major 19th century institutional buildings. Like some other major public buildings, it is the result of a very ambitious early design, subsequently modified. The original 1850s design (by Knight Kemp & Kerr) was only partly built by 1858; it was then completed to a design by JJ Clark in 1876 without the projected grand stairs and classical portico. The Long Room on the first floor is one of the grandest and most elegantly proportioned classical interiors in Melbourne, and now houses the main exhibition space of the Immigration Museum, while the former basement storerooms house the cafe.
