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Torres Force Headquarters and Commander’s residence
Thursday Island Customs House
Waibene, or Thursday Island, is located in the Torres Strait and was once a gateway to the colony of Queensland. A two-storey masonry and stucco building was constructed here for the Australian Customs Department in 1938. Designed by the Commonwealth Department of Works, it replaced an earlier colonial customs house.
World War II was declared soon after the completion of the new customs house and in 1942, after Japan’s entry into the war, the Australian Army took control of it as the residence of the commander of Torres Force for the duration of the war. The building was returned to the Customs Department in 1946 when military control of Thursday Island ended. Since then the Customs House has been used continuously by the Australian Customs Service, although due to the need for increased office space it no longer provides residential accommodation.
Place information
Location
Place type
Headquarters
History
Queensland police magistrate Henry Chester was appointed the sub-collector of customs for Torres Strait in 1877 and a timber customs house had been erected on Thursday Island by 1890. At the end of World War I the local Japanese-controlled pearling industry resumed activity with over 60 luggers working the pearl beds of the Torres Strait.
The importance of the port was acknowledged in 1938 when a new two-storey customs house was erected to replace the earlier building. The new customs house, overlooking the port, became one of the most prominent landmarks on the island. Built of brick and concrete and designed...
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