Contraband & Controversy: The Customs History of Australia from 1901

Second Hand (Hardcover)

Excellent Condition

Officers of the Australian Customers Service have done much to shape modern Australia.

It was Customs officers who were charged by the new Commonwealth government in 1901 with constructing and defending the tariff wall that was designed to protect Australia's growing industries while also providing revenue for the widening range of government services and activities.

It was Customs officers who administered the notorious dictation test, the principal weapon of the white Australia policy. It was Customs officers who enforced the tightening censorship imposed during the 1920s, on everything from books and films to bubblegum wrappers and whoopie cushions.

And it was the Customs officers who found themselves thrust into the front line of the war against drugs.

Based on wide-ranging research into the departmental archives and interviews with serving and retired officers, Professor Day tells the story of Customs in a way it has never been told before...