Importing truck from U.K. to Aus

[Mike K]

I had a tiring day years ago running around Melbourne literally !

With friends in the UK, I swapped a No11 wireless set for some Morris parts . packing the radio up and taking it into the freight forwarders was easy .

The box with my parts , about 3' long and 1' wide . I got notified that the box was waiting to be picked up and there is a storage fee involved if its not picked up by a certain date . This is what happened

I drove to an office in Camberwell where a girl stamped my paperwork, she told me the next stop is North Melbourne where another girl behind a desk stamped my paperwork. Then it was off to customs house in Melbourne city centre , I walked from Nth Melbourne . A uniformed customs official demanded to see a manifesto ! I told him its a few vintage car bits , head gaskets, headlights brake hoses .

He told me to go the law courts to fill out a stat dec , which I did , more walking in near 100F heat . I got back to Customs house, my mate the official was off on a break ! His sidekick had no idea of me or my situation, I told him about the stat dec, he said Ok I will sign the deal for you but you have to go to quarantine house next !!!!!!! More walking down to yarra bank up a huge tall building where a bored official said whats in the box , I told him and he signed stamped my paperwork..Wait there's more

Ok now I am on the final leg ....walking back to Nth Melbourne . Then a drive out to past Sunshine somewhere , an industrial wasteland, the kind thing of humanity has not seen since the Hiroshima aftermath . The most desolate, dirty patch of earth I've ever laid eyes on, rubbish everywhere, the 3rd world in Melbourne ! I got there , they checked my paperwork , a few umms and ahs and of course they could not find my box . I waited and waited, they searched " have you been to the quarantine people " they asked

The whole episode was a joke , the officials were obsessed with the paperwork. Not one official at this end actually opened my box at any time before I got it , the box could have had a nest of spiders in it !