Bond Store

Bluestone vaults on the ground floor of the Customs House housed the Bond Store.

Imported goods were held in bond until customs duty had been paid. As Melbourne's trade grew, privately owned bond stores sprang up around the port, supervised by customs officers.

The vaults also held the evidence of attempts to breach the law and evade customs regulations - opium and whisky smuggled into Port Phillip on a recent ship; or illegal distilling equipment seized in a raid.