Big 4th customs house built at Port Adelaide in 1870s as vital revenue source for the South Australian government
The Port Adelaide customs house, built at Commercial Road in 1878-79, was the port's fourth as an important source of South Australian government revenue. Customs activities within the building expanded to take over the adjoining Port Adelaide institute building.
Image courtesy South Australian History Trust
The large bluestone Port Adelaide customs house, constructed in 1878-79, asserted government control over goods and immigrants entering South Australia's chief port. It collected customs duties on goods landed from the other Australian colonies and overseas – an important source of government revenue before it introduced direct taxation.
The customs house was designed as government offices by its colonial architect George Thomas Light and built by Williams and Cleave at a cost of £11,102. The customs house was described as an excellent Victorian Italianate public building “somewhat pretentious, with cut stone dressings and cornices, etc and will form a prominent object on approaching the Port from the river”. It was constructed from Tea Tree Gully and Dry Creek stone, with dressings of Sydney white freestone and, being on reclaimed land, sat on a red gum timber raft embedded in lime concrete. A prominent tower, with mansard roof, lookout and flagpole, on the corner of the building, faced the Port River.
This was the fourth customs house at Port Adelaide. The first, from 1838, was upstream at the old Port Misery landing, while the second, built in 1840, was on that site. A third customs house (1860) was part of a police station, court house and customs house complex on the corner of St Vincent Street and Commercial Road (later the Port Adelaide visitor information centre).
In the 1979 building, the long room, integral to 19th Century customs houses, was at ground level and used for customs' business. The long room was noisy and bustling with many customs officers processing forms. All paperwork regarding duties payable on cargo was taken there and, after dues were paid, the long room officials issued receipts allowing the goods to be unloaded or collected from the bond stores.
In 1885, the original long room was replaced by a new side room, next to the institute building. The customs house and institute building were linked around 1890 by a first- and then second-floor extension to meet customs needs, as shipping increased at Port Adelaide.
With Australian federation in 1901, intercolonial duties were abolished. Levying and collecting customs duties on foreign imported good was taken over by the commonwealth government along with the Port Adelaide customs house and several around Australia. By 1901, the customs department occupied the whole of the 1879 building (and laneway extensions). During the 1950s, the customs service rented rooms in the institute building and, in 1957, bought this adjacent building to allow expansion. The interior was remodelled and internal access was created between the two buildings.
The federal government customs department vacated the 19th Century buildings in 1987, when a modern office was opened at the new Portland Canal development on Commercial Road, Port Adelaide. The former customs house at the other end of Commercial Road had been confirmed as a South Australia state heritage place in 1981.
