The first Customs House on this site next to the original river port was a tent, which was replaced by a two storey bluestone building in 1841. The great increase in wealth and trade of the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s led to a much more impressive design by
Peter Kerr with a grand portico above prominent stairs, begun in 1856–58, but never fully completed. In 1873-76, the remainder of the building was built, with a simpler entrance facadein
Renaissance Revival style, designed by Kerr with
John James Clark and
A E Johnson in the Public Works Department. The end result is one of Melbourne's grandest 19thcentury public buildings. Across the rear at first floor level, dramatic scale of the columned Long Room emphasised the importance of the Customs department. The site was listed in 1948 as one of the key sites for the modernisation of Melbourne, when 11storey £750,000 Customs House office tower was proposed. Customs officers moved out in 1965, and the building was used as the Melbourne offices for the members of the
Federal Parliament, and the interiors were variously altered. Vacant since the early 1990s, it was then decided to create a museum of immigration. Designed by
Daryl Jackson, the building was extensively restored and upgraded, with small extensions to the rear. ==Reference==