Customs House

Discover Wattle Range

Customs House

The customs house, restored to a working office as it was in the late 19^th century. Enter through the original railway turnstile in the fence from Railway Terrace to view the display

Customs Office on the corner of Millicent Road and Railway Terrace. Before Federation, each state collected customs fees from goods coming in from other states and overseas. This tiny office was located at the railway yards and recorded incoming and outgoing goods. After Federation the building was used as a railway office for goods and later by men who travelled down in front of the train on a trolley to make sure that the tracks were clear. They would sleep overnight in the building, and go back ahead of the train the next day. Imports at Beachport for the quarter ending 30^th September 1879 resulted in customs duties of £95 13s 3p and included such items as 108 gallons of beer in bottles, 35 gallons of whisky, 735 lbs of tea and 254 lbs of biscuits. The building was used as a museum for several years by the late Mr Tom McCourt who restored the building and maintained it for many years. For some time it was leased from the District Council of Beachport by the ANZ Bank, as their Beachport Agency and held claim to being the smallest bank in Australia. The agency closed in 1997 and the building was renovated by the Beachport & District Development Association and Wattle Range Council. You can view the display through the windows.

View the customs house, restored to a working office as it was in the late 19th century.

Click here to view Beachport's Historic Buildings Self Drive.

Beachport Visitor Information Centre

Millicent Road, Beachport SA 5280