🔍 Archway-style Collections Search

cURL request stats

Raw data from Axiell backend

Array
(
    [entityType] => ITEM
    [entity] => Array
        (
            [contextId] => aims
            [description] => Array
                (
                    [0] => The Collector of Customs, the principal officer based in the port of Greymouth, was responsible for administration and observance of the Customs Acts.
                )

            [id] => CAHT
            [idSort] => CAHT
            [name] => Customs Department, Greymouth District Office
            [custom] => Array
                (
                    [custom1] => As with all regional offices, getting specific information on dates was a difficult business. There is little in the historical or historiographical record that contains information on what happened at a micro regional level, or when. As a result, many of the 'guestimates' at dates have been based to a large extent on Archives New Zealand Christchurch Regional Office's holdings, which provide at best a tenuous chronological reference.  

The relationship between Greymouth, Westport and Christchurch is particularly problematic. The literature suggests that Westport closed in the late 1920s, and there are suggestions its functions may have been taken over by Greymouth. Also, it seems that for a period, Christchurch had a controlling relationship with Greymouth in its capacity as a regional office, although the time frame during which this may have occured is far from clear.
                    [custom2] => Archives New Zealand, undated, Customs (C) Record Group, administrative history. 
The Cyclopedia of New Zealand, Vol 5: Nelson, Marlborough and Westland, The Cyclopedia Company Ltd, Christchurch, 1906
The Guardians at the Gate - The History of the New Zealand Customs Department, David McGill, Owl Press, 1991 
Nominal Return of All Officers in the Employ of the Government: Their Duties, Salaries, Location and Dates of Employment (Return to an Order of the House of Representatives dated 31st August, 1865, No 40-65), Wellington, 1866
                )

            [identifier] => Array
                (
                    [priref] => Array
                        (
                            [0] => 5249
                        )

                )

            [agentControlRelation] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Realm of New Zealand
                            [type] => controlled_by
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1947-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1989-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => approximate
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Organisation
                            [relationHasSource] => A0020
                        )

                    [1] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Dominion of New Zealand
                            [type] => controlled_by
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1907-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1947-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Organisation
                            [relationHasSource] => A0009
                        )

                    [2] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Self-Governing Colony of New Zealand
                            [type] => controlled_by
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1865-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => approximate
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1907-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Organisation
                            [relationHasSource] => A0005
                        )

                )

            [agentHierarchicalRelation] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => New Zealand Customs Service, Christchurch Regional Office
                            [type] => controlling
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1865-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => approximate
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1989-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => approximate
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Agency
                            [relationHasTarget] => CAVN
                        )

                )

            [agentType] => Central government
            [authorityRelation] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => DA576
                            [type] => covered_by
                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => ExpiryDate
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2026-08-02T00:00:00.0Z
                                )

                            [itemType] => Disposal Authority
                            [relationHasTarget] => DA576
                        )

                    [1] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => DA558
                            [type] => covered_by
                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => ExpiryDate
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2026-05-17T00:00:00.0Z
                                )

                            [itemType] => Disposal Authority
                            [relationHasTarget] => DA558
                        )

                    [2] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => DA278
                            [type] => covered_by
                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => ExpiryDate
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2017-03-26T00:00:00.0Z
                                )

                            [itemType] => Disposal Authority
                            [relationHasTarget] => DA278
                        )

                    [3] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => DA169
                            [type] => covered_by
                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => ExpiryDate
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2015-02-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                )

                            [itemType] => Disposal Authority
                            [relationHasTarget] => DA169
                        )

                    [4] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => DA102
                            [type] => covered_by
                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => ExpiryDate
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2015-10-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                )

                            [itemType] => Disposal Authority
                            [relationHasTarget] => DA102
                        )

                    [5] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => DA101
                            [type] => covered_by
                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => ExpiryDate
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2015-10-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                )

                            [itemType] => Disposal Authority
                            [relationHasTarget] => DA101
                        )

                    [6] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => DA100
                            [type] => covered_by
                            [hasEndDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [type] => ExpiryDate
                                    [normalizedValue] => 2015-10-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                )

                            [itemType] => Disposal Authority
                            [relationHasTarget] => DA100
                        )

                )

            [digitalRecordInArchive] => 
            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                (
                    [type] => YearStart
                    [normalizedValue] => 1865-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                        (
                            [0] => approximate
                            [1] => yearOnly
                        )

                )

            [hasEndDate] => Array
                (
                    [type] => YearEnd
                    [normalizedValue] => 1989-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                        (
                            [0] => approximate
                            [1] => yearOnly
                        )

                )

            [history] => 
The New Zealand Customs Service is one of the oldest government departments in the country, being established in 1840. Originally controlled through New South Wales and London, the service was developed to levy duties on goods moving through New Zealand ports. In 1858, the Customs Act established Customs as a fully fledged department within the developing Colonial government, controlled by a Commissioner who himself was appointed by the Governor. Commissioners in turn delegated their authority to regional Collectors of Customs.
Greymouth was declared an official Port of Entry in 1865. A year later, its first Customs House was completed and the service employed 5 staff. By 1904, the service was administering over £70,000 of imports. Distillation Acts of 1866 and 1867 broadened the Department's scope, as it required Customs to enforce tariffs on the production of liquor and licence production. Further responsibilities were entrusted to Customs with the passing of a series of immigration Acts, such as the Imbecile Passengers Act 1873, Chinese Immigrants Act 1881 and Immigration Restriction Act 1899. Collectors of Customs were also Inspectors of Distilleries, and acted as returning officers for seamen during general elections. In the late 1980s, the Greymouth Office was closed and its functions and responsibilities consolidated in the Southern Regional Office of Christchurch.
Functions:
As the country developed, so too did the role of Customs. Customs Department officers were often called to occupy additional government posts such as Sub-Treasurer, Resident Magistrate, Postmaster, Receiver of Land Revenue. 1866 saw the introduction of taxation on internal production through excise duties and collecting duty on imported goods. The Customs Department administered the Distillation Act 1868, which regulated distillation and the licensing of brewers, and the Beer Duty Act of 1880, which placed an excise duty on the production of beer. Collectors of Customs acted as Inspectors of Distilleries. At some ports Collectors also acted as Registrars of Shipping and Superintendents of Mercantile Marine. In 1913, under the Customs Act 1913 and in conjunction with the Indecent Publications Act 1910, Customs’ mandate extended to protecting New Zealand from the importation of suspect or indecent publications. This lead to Customs, deciding what importers and individuals could and could not bring into the country.
In general the functions and responsibilities of Customs' offices included:
 regulation of arrival and departure of shipping vessels;
 levy of tariff duties on imported goods;
collection of excise duties on imported liquor and tobacco;
collection of export duty on exported goods, and ensuring the non-entry of prohibited imports;
supervision of the import and export of goods by licensing warehouses for storing dutiable goods without paying duty;
supervision of the delivery, accounting and packing, seizing and disposing of forfeited goods, preventing and detecting of smuggling;
collection of excise duty on spirits including the licensing of plants used in making distilled spirit;
collection of beer duty including the licensing of brewers; and
examination of overseas mail (Customs legislation also applied to goods passing through the Post Office).
            [isAssociatedWithPlace] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [location] => Greymouth, West Coast
                        )

                )

            [itemType] => Agency
            [rdfType] => agent
            [recordIsMissing] => 
            [sequentialRelation] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Department of Labour, Greymouth District Office
                            [type] => successor
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1951-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => exact
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Agency
                            [relationHasSource] => CAXD
                        )

                    [1] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => New Zealand Customs Service, Christchurch Regional Office
                            [type] => successor
                            [hasBeginningDate] => Array
                                (
                                    [normalizedValue] => 1989-01-01T00:00:00.0Z
                                    [dateQualifier] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => approximate
                                            [1] => yearOnly
                                        )

                                )

                            [itemType] => Agency
                            [relationHasSource] => CAVN
                        )

                )

            [setSpec] => agency
        )

)