< Previous search
View from the opposite side of the street of a 3-storey beige colonial-era building in the Renaissance style with multiple windows and Greek columns. Red banners and big lettering on the building’s front read ‘Immigration Museum’. People move along the street in front of the museum, a tram travels across the road from the right and high rises of the business district are visible in the background
A top-down view from the second floor of a rectangular stone staircase with ornate wooden handrails. A tour group climbs up the stairs and light streams through large windows on the landings and via the large light fixture hanging from the ceiling
A tour group, standing on a tiled floor in the middle of a grand off-white room with high ceilings and many Ionic columns around the perimeter, takes pictures while looking up
A grand off-white room with dimmed lights, high ceilings and big windows between large Ionic columns, and orange-red-black patterned tiles
View from the top of a gated staircase down into a stone courtyard with a shallow water feature on either side of the central walkway, and an older couple looking down at opposite sides of the display. Beyond is another larger courtyard at a lower level with many trees leading to a museum building. In the background large skyscrapers are seen against a blue sky.

Making Melbourne: Immigration Museum and Customs House Tour

+ Add to Itinerary

Presented by: Museums Victoria

Description

Embark on a 150-year journey exploring the influence of Customs House (home of the Immigration Museum) on Victoria’s past, present and future. Learn about the building’s impact on First Peoples and migrants, and how it has shaped Australian culture and values across time. Formerly the gateway into Melbourne, for many years, Customs House determined who could and could not belong to Australian society. Uncover the interconnections between architecture and society, and hear stories of power, loss, trauma, hope, struggle and triumph as the usage and significance of this iconic site continues to evolve.

What's On

Take a guided tour of Customs House with an expert museum staff member. Learn about unique architectural features of the building, and see the goods vaults, the ornate Long Room and the foundations of the previous Customs House from the 1840s.

Alongside visits to permanent exhibitions, learn unique facts and insights about key events in Australian and Victorian history and how the Customs House was the site for many of these changes.

Afterwards you can choose to purchase tickets to further explore the permanent galleries about migrant and First Peoples stories, visit the popular Joy exhibition and view a special community-focused exhibition about the young African-Australian diaspora, We Outside.

Images: (1) Immigration Museum (Customs House). Photo: Tiny Empire Collective, 2022. (2) Grand Staircase. Photo: Rodney Start, 2024. (3) Long Room. Photo: Rodney Start, 2024. (4) Long Room. Photo: Lisa Businovski, 2022. (5) Tribute Garden. Photo: Tiny Empire Collective, 2022. All photos courtesy Museums Victoria.

Important Details

Tour/event summary information

Saturday 26 July + Sunday 27 July
Tours run 12pm + 2pm
Running for 45 minutes in groups of 20

Optional add-on: After your tour you may purchase a General Entry ticket to further explore the Immigration Museum’s exhibitions.

Bookings

Bookings required—$7 booking fee applies
First release tickets: 12pm Wednesday 2 July
Second release tickets: 10am Saturday 5 July

Book

Meeting Point

Meet in the Ground Floor Foyer

Accessible entry via Market Street

No food or drink allowed in exhibition spaces

Accessibility

Fully wheelchair accessible, Accessible bathroom, Elevator access, Step-free access

Private prayer space onsite (not wheelchair accessible)

Explore Site Accessibility

Location

400 Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000

CLOSE

Major Sponsors
City of Melbourne logo

Subscribe

Keep up to date with our latest news + events

"*" indicates required fields

Terms and Conditions*

Acknowledgement of Country

Our programming exists on what always was and always will be the land of the people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, as well as to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the wider Melbourne community and beyond. Indigenous sovereignty has never been ceded in Australia and we are mindful of this in everything we do, given our focus on the modern built environment.

Privacy PolicyCopyright Melbourne Open House 2025

Built By Efront

Our programming exists on what always was and always will be the land of the people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, as well as to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the wider Melbourne community and beyond. Indigenous sovereignty has never been ceded in Australia and we are mindful of this in everything we do, given our focus on the modern built environment.

Enter Site

Search

Stay in the loop