Prior to Federation in 1901 the South Australian colonial Customs Department maintained a number of offices at points of entry to the colony for the collection of customs duties.
The most important Customs House was located at Port Adelaide. Other Customs houses were at Beachport, McDonnell Bay, Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Robe, and Wallaroo. These buildings, along with customs and excise related properties at locations such as Semaphore, and Terowie, were transferred to the Commonwealth at Federation. Properties at Robe and Beachport were returned to South Australian government ownership in 1920.
Records of Customs House buildings
The National Archives office in Adelaide holds records relating to a number of the Customs House buildings. Information about the National Archives holdings relating to other Australian customs houses is available on the following pages:
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series, item number |
|---|---|---|
| Semaphore Boarding Station | 1824–1958 | D1051, FOLDER 70B |
| Wallaroo Customs House | 1862–1911 | D1051, FOLDER 17A |
| Port Pirie Customs House (old Court House) | 1882–1970 | D1051, FOLDER 64 |
| Port Augusta Customs House | 1884–1919 | D1051, FOLDER 15 |
| Port Germein Customs House | 1890 | D1051, FOLDER 63D |
| Port MacDonnell Post Office and Customs House | 1908 | D1051, FOLDER 113A DRAWING 1 |
| Customs and Excise quarters – Reynella | 1932 | D1051, FOLDER 24A DRAWING 1 |
| Customs and Excise quarters – Renmark | 1933 | D1051, FOLDER 24A DRAWING 5 |
| Customs and Excise quarters – Tanunda | 1935 | D1051, FOLDER 24A DRAWING 8 |
| Customs and Excise quarters – Nuriootpa | 1936 | D1051, FOLDER 24A DRAWING 6 |
| Customs and Excise quarters – Lyndoch | 1936 | D1051, FOLDER 24A DRAWING 4 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series, item number |
|---|---|---|
| Protection against fire – Port Adelaide, Port Pirie and Wallaroo | 1910 | D596, 1910/3789 |
| Customs House Port Augusta | 1917–46 | D596, 1944/104 |
| Port Pirie official residence of sub-collector | 1918–19 | D596, 1919/5096 |
| Port Pirie Customs House works | 1919–42 | D596, 1941/356 |
| Wallaroo Customs House quarters | 1932 | D596, 1932/2789 |
| Wallaroo official residence | 1944–50 | D596, 1948/33 |
| Port Pirie Customs House | 1947–51 | D596, 1948/4579 |
| Proposed outport – Robe | 1949–64 | D596, 1958/1018 |
| Port Augusta – Returned Soldiers Club – part 2 purchase | 1943–51 | A877, CL20759 |
| Wallaroo Customs House | 1946–50 | A877, CL25037 |
| Office copies of specifications for works, repairs, and maintenance | 1941–62 | AP567/1 |
| Information folders relating to National Estate buildings | 1976–91 | D5159 |
Records held by other institutions
State Records of South Australia holds many nineteenth century records relating to Customs Houses. These include correspondence records of the Colonial Secretary's Department and drawings of the Colonial Architect. The South Australiana photographic collection at the State Library of South Australia is also a valuable source.
State Records of South Australia
GPO Box 464 Adelaide SA 5001
Tel: (08) 8343 6800
Fax: (08) 8204 8777
Research Centre:
115 Cavan Road
Gepps Cross SA 5094
State Library of South Australia
Corner North Terrace and Kintore Avenue, Adelaide
GPO Box 419
Adelaide SA 5001
Tel: (08) 8207 7250
Fax: (08) 8207 7247
Records of Customs control of Murray River trade
Very few records of South Australian Customs control of pre-Federation trade on the Murray River are known to have survived. This subject has been covered in the following article:
Ewins, Ken, ‘Murray Trade and Customs Control’, Australian Customs History Journal, no. 3, 1991.