The Present Building

The present Customs House building is the result of two separate building phases over 20 years, architect Peter Kerr was involved in both.

With vastly expanded trade and soaring revenue from the gold rush, the Victorian colonial government commissioned Peter Kerr to design a new Customs House. Construction of the building commenced in 1855, but halted in 1858 when the economy slowed and government revenue declined.

Completion of a redesigned building recommenced in 1873, to a new design by Kerr and two other government architects, John James Clark and Arthur Ebden Johnson. The final 1876 building incorporated the Long Room from the 1850s building.