Newcastle Customs House

The Newcastle Customs House is a heritage building located on the corner of Bond & Watt Street in Newcastle, Australia. The building, an Italianate Renaissance Revival, was designed in 1877 by New South Wales Colonial Architect James Barnet. In 1899, a wing with matching materials was added under the direction of Walter Liberty Vernon. It now operates as the Customs House Hotel.

Newcastle Customs House
Alternative names	Customs House
General information
Type	Custom house; repurposed as a hotel
Architectural style	Italianate Renaissance Revival
Location	Corner of Bond and Watt Street, Newcastle, New South Wales
Country	Australia
Coordinates	32°55′36″S 151°47′6″E
Completed	1877, 1899
Owner	Fernance Family Holdings
Height
Tip	32-metre-high (105 ft) clock tower, lantern and time ball
Technical details
Material	Predominately brick
Floor count	Two, plus basement
Design and construction
Architect(s)	James Barnet Walter Liberty Vernon
Architecture firm	New South Wales Colonial Architect
Developer	Jennings and Pallister
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name	Newcastle Customs House
Designated	14 July 2000
Reference no.	01403

History

By the late 1820s, several free traders operated in Newcastle Harbour. The first customs pilot arrived in 1827 and is said to have operated from a cottage on a sandbank along the Hunter River. Numerous temporary buildings were used to house the customs officer in the following years but these were not considered satisfactory by the customs officials.

In 1846, Newcastle was declared a Free Port and Dispatch. These local authorities were "to take the necessary measures for the promulgation of the said order in the usual and most authoritative manner". The resulting increase in shipping placed greater demands on the existing facilities, resulting in local agitation for a new building.

By January 1871, plans for the new Customs House were underway by contractor Mr. Fox. The tender had been taken at 7,000 pounds, and the building was to be completed within fifteen months from the time of signing the document. However, the project was delayed because it was incomplete. In July 1874, the government accepted a bid from Mr. Jennings and Mr. Pallister. By October 1874, the contractors had fenced off the site during preliminary development for the construction of the new building. The blueprints were designed by the architect James Burnet.

The original plans for the building no longer survived but were retraced in 1932. The only outbuildings indicated were the WCs immediately behind the building. By the end of 1874, 1,000 pounds (of an estimated total of 13,200) had been spent in construction. Although celebrations had been held for the final stone laying in 1876, the building was not completed until the following year. In January 1877, it was reported that the English and German ensigns had been raised on the spire of the Custom House. Between March and April 1877, the time ball was placed in position.

By April 1877, the building had not been occupied despite being finished and considered habitable. The building only opened for business in November 1877, with the baroque "Jane Spiers" being the first vessel cleared from it.

In 1897, a Royal Commission investigated the management of the Hunter Board, recommending that a piece of Crown land be added as the site of new offices. As a result, an additional wing was added to the building with an estimated cost of 4000 pounds. The new building was completed by the end of 1899.

In 1924, the clock was recommissioned, and in 1956, a major refurbishment was carried out.

On January 1959, a fire caused severe damage to the roof and two floors of the building. The initial damage assessment estimated the cost at £10,000, but by April 1959, this figure had risen to £13,000. At this point, tenders were sought for the installation of new slates.

In 1960, the building gained a new tenant when the Department of Works took over a substantial section of the upper floor. As a result, alterations, repairs, and a thorough repainting of the area was carried out prior to the department moving in.

During 1962, the building underwent another major refurbishing, primarily repainting. At the beginning of that year, the main office, counter and scat backs in the public space, Nautical and Ships Surveyor's office, Superintendent's Office, Engineer and Ship Surveyor's office and Examination Room were all cleaned and repainted.

In 1963, the roof was retiled with terracotta tiles. In 1968 a restoration process was carried out on the external stonework. This was achieved by removing the eroded sand and replacing it with a similarly coloured mixture of sand and a hard setting resin.

During 1968, the building was first classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW). In 1970, a report was prepared on the condition of the previously treated external stonework. It characterized the condition as bad, declaring that the previous years' work had damaged the stonework's integrity.

Despite the report's conclusion, the works scheduled for 1971 included items such as the continued "renovation" of external stonework using the same compound; renovation of brickwork; replacement of timber gates on Watt Street with cyclone chain wire; and replacement of the existing garage doors with aluminium shutters.

The growing awareness of the historical value of the building was highlighted in 1976 by celebrations marking its centenary. Customs officials re-enacted the original party held in the building to celebrate the final stone-laying and the building received media highlights. In the same year, a number of enquiries were made regarding historical facets of the building, such as its clock.

In 1978, repairs included general maintenance as well as repainting the stairwell and staircase of the cast wing, miscellaneous rooms, Long Room and lower ground floor rear entrance lobby. In the same year, concerns were expressed about the potential damage caused by blasting for harbor deepening.

During 1979, tests were carried out on the earlier stonework and brickwork restoration, which were found to "have failed in almost all areas of application". By the end of the year, requests were made to restore the external brick and stone work.

During 1980, the first steps were taken towards establishing a schedule that would be sympathetic towards the historic value of the building. An inspection led to the recommendation that a management plan be prepared. In addition, investigations were to be carried out to determine how to remove the earlier bonding materials on the external masonry.

In 1981, restoration work on the external stone and brickwork commenced. The general maintenance works of 1983 included repainting the ground floor of the entrance lobby in an "original scheme", reinstating the original entrance and lobby doors, as well as the clock tower handrail, and installing new light fittings for the entrance lobbies and hallways to the ground floor.The 1985 repair and maintenance program recommended the replacement of deteriorating Terra-cotta tiles with Welsh slates and the reinstatement of the iron palisade fence, given the necessity of addressing the structural deterioration of the existing tiles and the restoration of the fence's integrity. Further financial resources were allocated for the purpose of interior restoration. Additionally, there was considerable debate and correspondence regarding the restoration of the time ball. The Company of Master Mariners proposed undertaking the restoration as a bicentenary project.

In December 1989, the Customs House suffered considerable damage during the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. Between 1990 and 1994, remediation works were carried out and substantial conservation works recommended in the 1987 Conservation Plan.

The drawings for works to Newcastle Customs House by the Department of Administrative Services for earthquake repair and reinforcement works included:

• reconstruction of earthquake damaged chimneys and reinforcement by filling flues with cement.
• steel bracing of the first and ground floor ceilings.
• reinforcement of the tower with reinforced cement render

The Department of Administrative Services drawings for conservation and reconstruction works documented the following:

• Internal demolition works including the demolition of many intrusive counters, cupboards and internal partitions;
• Capping off and disconnecting existing extraneous plumbing and services, demolition of part of the later toilet block behind the southern verandah, and demolition of the outbuildings located on the eastern section of the site;
• Reconstruction of the eastern verandah, balustrade, and stairs, including windows in the western wall;
• A comprehensive stone repair, epoxy patching, and replacement program, reinstatement of original profile cornices, skirtings, and architraves;
• New pendant lighting;
• New paneled doors to original details;
• Revision of telephone, electrical, plumbing and fire services;
• New slate roof to the main wings and verandah;
• New copper gutters and downpipes;
• New paint scheme for exterior building elements;
• Removal of ' the concrete paving from the stone on the southern verandah removal of some trees from the western side of the main building;
• New palisade fencing to existing stone columns and plinth wall;
• New exposed aggregate paving to the site.

In 1995, substantial alterations were carried out to convert it for use as a licensed café and function venue.

Customs House, Watt Street, Newcastle, NSW, looking towards the Great Northern Hotel

In 2018, the building became known as the Customs House Hotel. The hotel consists of a restaurant and bar on the lower level and a function room on the upper level.

Description

The building exemplifies the Italianate Renaissance Revival Style, which Barnet frequently employed in his designs. Although the building evolved through two major construction phases, the style of the north facing original wing has been faithfully carried through into the rear wing by the later architects under the direction of Government Architect W.L. Vernon. The addition maintains architectural consistency with the original structure.

The building is a two-story masonry structure planned along an elongated cast west axis. The building is terminated by a 32-metre high (105 ft) tower at the western end and by a slightly projecting bay at the eastern end of the front elevation.

The building is constructed of dark cream brickwork with a battered sandstone plinth approximately two meters high, sandstone string course and projecting sandstone eaves brackets. The primary façade windows feature carved stone reveals and are topped with semi-circular arches constructed of alternating cream and black fire bricks. The windows of the "lesser" facades, facing into the rear courtyard have simple brick reveals and segmented sandstone arches and stone sills.

The western end has a 32-metre-high (105 ft) clock tower, lantern and time ball, one of three examples in Australia that are relatively intact. The time ball would fall at 1 pm every day until World War II, in which it was stopped to hide it from the enemy. The building has two floors and a basement area.

The building comprises two floor levels and a basement area under the eastern end of the main building.

The ground floor area consists of a bar area, dining rooms, kitchen, gaming room and toilets. The first floor consists of conference rooms, bar areas, toilets and function rooms.

In the northern wing most of the internal spaces retain elements of the first phase of construction. Cedar window and door joinery survives as well as architraves and skirtings.

In the main ground floor rooms and public spaces the plaster ceilings and cornices remain relatively intact and at first floor level these elements generally have been reinstated during more recent restoration works.

The ground floor timbers were inspected from the underfloor space and were found to be intact. The upper floor timbers may be assumed to be intact judging from the unchanged state of the plaster ceilings below. Some modification of the upper floor boards would have occurred to enable installation of modern plumbing and electrical services.

The stair in the base of the tower is a winding cantilevered stone type with a very fine cedar handrail. The stair in the eastern end of the north wing is timber with plaster soffit, also having a cedar handrail.

In the rear wing, the joinery and plaster details are different, being characteristic of the style at the turn of the century. The architraves and skirtings from this period are identified as Type 2, and the windows as Types 3 and 4 on the west and south facades, and Types 5 and 6 on the east façade. The stair in this section is timber with a cedar handrail, exhibiting a high standard of craftsmanship. Many of the ceilings in the rooms of the building have been restored to their original detail in the works undertaken between 1987 and 1999.

Most of the rooms have been repainted following a researched colour scheme. It is understood that the colours revealed by paint scrapings were modified to provide this scheme. Evidence of the original colours can be found on a section of the ground floor wall in the eastern stair lobby.

Many of the timber veneer and glass partitions dating from the later part of phase Ill described in the 1987 Plan have been removed and the original fabric has been restored.

Many of the original panelled doors on the upper floor of the building have been returned or restored.

Original/early features of the interior include:

• Original room layout of the building;
• Original plaster ceiling roses and intact original cornices;
• Painted rendered plaster walls and original wall vents;
• Timber framed floor structure and timber floor boards;
• Timber skirtings and architraves;
• Original timber doors and windows;
• Timber staircases with original stairs, balusters and posts;
• Location of fireplaces.

The physical condition of the building was reported as good as at 24 July 2000.

Heritage listing

Newcastle Customs House was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on July 14th, 2000 having satisfied the relevant criteria. The following are selected quotes from that listing:

"The visual relationship to the harbour and the city is significant and symbolizes the associational relationship of the Customs House to the maritime and commercial history of Newcastle".

"The architectural excellence of Barnet's original 1877 building, including external fabric and details, is largely intact. The 1899 wing was added sensitively by adopting almost identical materials and details".

Bibliography

• Attraction Homepage (2007). "Newcastle Customs House".
• Brian McDonald + Associates (2000). Newcastle Customs House Conservation and Management Plan.
• Tourism NSW (2007). "Customs House".

Attribution

This Wikipedia article contains material from Newcastle Customs House, entry number 01403 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.

External links

Media related to Newcastle Customs House at Wikimedia Commons