[1] Townsville had been established in the mid-1860s by pastoralist John Melton Black and his Sydney business partner, Robert Towns, as a port to service Woodstock Station.

[1] At this period Robert Towns, with interests in banking, pastoral, shipping and commercial industries, was one of Australian's most influential businessmen.

They received support from the Queensland Collector of Customs and on 17 June 1865 Cleveland Bay was proclaimed a "Port of Entry and Clearance".

Staff included the Sub-Collector of Customs who, for an annual fee of |300, served as the Police Magistrate, Clerk of Petty Sessions, and Harbour and Port Master.

[1] On 29 July 1865 the Surveyor-General's Department decided that the new Customs House should be located next to the harbour entrance on Ross Creek.

[1] The discovery of gold at Cape River in 1867 and Ravenswood in 1869 stimulated the development of Townsville as a port and administration centre.

[1] The Customs Service grew rapidly as road and rail networks in the Townsville hinterland expanded to meet the needs of the pastoral industry and gold fields.

By the late 1870s the early timber framed government buildings in Townsville were beginning to be replaced by ore substantial structures.

At the same time the Queensland government embarked on an ambitious building program to make a generous contribution to the planned Commonwealth of Australia by constructing new customs houses or upgrading existing ones prior to Federation.

In the late 1880s he achieved success in a number of design competitions and in the early 1890s established his own architectural practice in Sydney.

Due to the effects of the economic depression of the 1890s on the architectural profession, Payne gained a temporary position as a draftsman in the Queensland Public Works Department, taking up the appointment in March 1898.

With the tropical climate and the government's desire to impress in mind, he designed a colonnaded Romanesque building with an imposing presence to The Strand and shaded, well ventilated interiors.

In late 1902 Payne resigned from the Public Works Department to oversee construction of his winning design for St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Brisbane, for which he acquired a national reputation.

[1] Payne's Townsville Customs House was a brick and stone building of generous design, with high ceilings to allow for maximum air circulation and broad, colonnaded verandahs to provide shade for the internal rooms.

The building was constructed of brick and stone with concrete foundations and a plinth of granite from Cockle Bay on Magnetic Island.

Part of the first floor residence became office space for the Department of Works and Buildings and the basement was converted into an air raid shelter with an exit door to Wickham Street.

The flat at the west end was vacated and verandah enclosures removed, with restoration of the stone and brick work on the balcony.

[1] In 1992 $620,000 was allocated by the Federal government for the restoration and conservation of the building, including the repair of the sandstone, masonry and roof sheeting.

[1] The Townsville Customs House is located on the corner of The Strand and Wickham Street, at the base of Melton Hill overlooking Cleveland Bay.

Within this area are three bedrooms created using modern partitioning, a living room, lounge, kitchen, and colonnades on both the north and south facades, which contain laundry and bathroom facilities.

It remains substantially intact and is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of its class of place, being one of a group of imposing, two-storeyed brick and stone customs houses designed by the Queensland Public Works department and constructed around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The former Townsville Customs House provides important evidence of adaptation to the climatic requirements of north Queensland particularly in its high ceilings and wide colonnades along the length of both street elevations.

With its distinctive entrance portico and domed roof the former Townsville Customs House makes an outstanding contribution to an historic and aesthetic streetscape that includes Anzac Memorial Park, the former Queen's Hotel, the State Government Offices, Tattersalls Hotel, and the former Bank of New South Wales.