John Mullaly, Customs Official, 1840s

John Mullaly set sail from Ireland in 1840 with his parents and three sisters, in search of a better life. They were lucky to survive the voyage of 173 days. Typhoid fever raged through the ship, killing 14 people on board, and causing the first typhoid scare in Melbourne.

Mullaly was skilled with figures and an excellent record keeper, and after ten years working as a customs officer he had risen to become second in command of the 1841 Customs House.

With the expansion of trade during the gold rush, Mullaly left the Customs Department to establish his own business as a private customs agent, but retained an office in the Customs House. The firm of Mullaly & Byrne still operates as customs agents in Melbourne, more than 150 years after Mullaly first joined the Customs Department.