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Import-Export

Sydney's first ice

Natural ice, imported from the lakes of the north-eastern United States, cooled the drinks of Sydneysiders for the first time in 1839. During the early 1850s, the trade provided relief during Sydney summers, as well as a spur to local engineers to improve ice manufacturing.

New South Wales Customs Regulation Act 1830

An Act to regulate the customs and trade within New South Wales and its dependencies.

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Customs House

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Public building on Alfred Street at Circular Quay where shipping was cleared and goods passing through the port of Sydney were taxed and cleared for sale or export. A number of Customs House buildings have stood on the site since since 1845 and it was designed and redesigned by three government architects Mortimer Lewis, James Barnet and Walter Liberty Vernon. When the port was busy the House was crowded and noisy, the scene of raised tempers, delays and disputed dealings. It was surrounded by public houses, shipping companies and general maritime activities.

In 1990 the building was closed as a customs departments and in 1994 was leased to the City of Sydney who refurbished the building for use as a multipurpose commercial space that opened in 1995. In 2005 Customs House reopened as the headquarters of the City of Sydney Library and function centre. In April 2019 the City of Sydney purchased the building from the Federal Government.

AJ Riley & Co

Drapery export business established by Alban Riley in 1878.

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Burns Philp

Shipping and trading company that was headquartered in Sydney from 1876 and became a multinational enterprise across the South Pacific.

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Caltex Australia

Oil importing company listed in Australia in the 1940s which became the largest refiner and marketer through merger with Ampol in 1995.

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Campbell's of Calcutta

Scottish merchants trading from India who opened a branch in Sydney in 1800.

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Commonwealth Oil Refineries

Oil company that operated between 1920 and 1952 as a joint venture of the Australian government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.

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Cooper and Levey

Shipping, trading and merchant company which achieved remarkable success given the emancipist origins of its owners. To expand its retail trade it traded across the Pacific and exported regularly to England.

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Dalgety & Co

Mercantile, pastoral and financial company established in Melbourne in 1848 before expanding nationally and internationally to exploit the financial resources of Britain for the growing requirements of the Australian economy.

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JC Howard

Import company for machinery and agricultural implement.

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JH Williams & Co

Trade organisation of American consul James Hartwell Williams.

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John Frazer & Co

Wholesale grocery business in York Street.

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Joubert & Murphy

Importers of French wines and spirits established in Sydney in 1841 by Didier Joubert and Jeremiah Murphy

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Kanematsu Australia

Australian office of Japanese merchant and trading business, Katematsu Corporation, that opened in Sydney in 1890 in an office at 99 Clarence Street before moving to 8 O'Connell Street in 1891. The company had been established by Fusajiro Kanematsu in Japan in 1889 in order to establish trade with Australia. It is one of the largest dealers in wool to Japan.

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King Nam Jang

Importing business and ships' providores which operated at 85 George Street North in Chinatown for over a century.

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Motories Ltd

Importer and retailer of European and English cars.

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Myers & Solomon

Merchants who imported a range of goods to their Sydney warehouse.

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Sang On Tiy

Wholesale fruiterers and commission agents who arranged assisted migration of Chinese labourers to Fiji as a means of expanding production and markets.

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Smith Bros Trade and Transport Terminal

Shipping operator and freight container business at Botany.

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Tiy Sang Company

Fruit and vegetable business that operated through the markets in Sydney. Bananas were a large part of their business and they had investments in Coffs Harbour, Fiji and elsewhere in the Pacific Islands.

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