VPRS 38 Inward Shipping Reports

Further research is required to determine the exact purpose and context of this seriesThis series is a customs record of ship arrivals. It is assumed the record only relates to arrivals at the Port of Melbourne.Under customs legislation every ship laden with cargo or ballast was required to make a report to the customs officers and deliver a bill of entry before the cargo could be landed. Customs duties were paid at the time of entry.Details in the record may vary but usually include:- date of entry/report- vessel's name- country of vessel- tonnage- no., date and port of registry- name of master- country of master- number of crew- number of crew from country of vessel- cargo- place of discharge- from where vessel came- owner's or agent's name- tonnage dues paid- number of passengers.It is not known whether there were earlier or later volumes. A volume containing entries for the period January 1868 to January 1870 is not extant as at 1995.Similar details are included in Units 7 and 8 of VPRS 22/P for ships departing. Those volumes are headed "Ships Clearances".Unit 10 of VPRS 22/P is a similar record for the Port of Portland.