The Immigration Museum focuses on Melbourne and Victoria’s immigration history, providing a safe space for the sharing of ideas and stories that encourage visitors to build human connection and compassion. Through a program of captivating exhibitions, dynamic collections, special events, educational programs and digital content, Immigration Museum celebrates identity and world cultures.
 Immigration Museum in Old Customs House | |
 | |
| Established | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Location | Melbourne, Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°49′09″S 144°57′37″E / 37.8191°S 144.9604°E |
| Type | Culture museum |
| Website | museumsvictoria |
First opened in 1998 as a division of Museums Victoria, Immigration Museum is located at the historic and beautifully restored Old Customs House Building on Flinders Street in Melbourne, Victoria.
Self-expression and identity take centre stage at the permanent exhibition Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours, which explores how cultural heritage and belief systems can influence both perceptions of ourselves and of others. Through personal stories, objects, images and interactive multimedia, visitors discover surprising connections and are invited to challenge the assumptions that are often made about others.
Other permanent exhibitions trace the journeys of those who have migrated to Australia, for reasons ranging from war and persecution to reunions with loved ones and the promise of new beginnings. Leaving Home explores why migrants to Australia left their home countries and the objects they brought with them, while Getting In tracks immigration policy through the ages and its effect on cultural diversity in this country. And with a commitment to exploring genuine notions of diversity, Immigration Museum’s Voices Across Time exhibition considers how First Peoples’ cultures and experiences intersect with those of migrants to Victoria through stories of joy, sorrow, loss and resilience.
Each year, Immigration Museum and its courtyard is activated by community festivals and celebrations of food, music and culture. In the Immigration Discovery Centre, visitors can conduct genealogical research, while the Tribute Garden honours immigrants from more than 90 countries from the 1800s to today. [1]
History
The architects of Customs House were Peter Kerr, with additional input by J.J. Clark and Arthur Ebden Johnson. Constructed between 1855 and 1876, its creation was a reflection of vastly expanded trade and soaring revenue from the goldrush, resulting in one of Melbourne's grand buildings. The museum's most important space, the Long Room, is a notable piece of Renaissance Revival architecture.[2]
The site was listed in 1948 as one of the key sites for the modernisation of Melbourne.[3] An 11 storey £750,000 Customs House office tower was proposed,[3] however did not proceed.
References
edit- ^ "Celebrating Victorian communities". Museums Victoria.
- ^ "Old Customs House". Museums Victoria.
- ^ a b "NEW CITY BUILDING WILL CHANGE MELBOURNE SKYLINE". The Herald. No. 22, 274. Victoria, Australia. 11 October 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 13 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
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