A quick guide to passenger lists on the Internet

New arrivals: a family standing on a Melbourne Wharf after arriving on an ocean liner <i>Achille Lauro</i>.

New arrivals: a family standing on a Melbourne Wharf after arriving on an ocean liner Achille Lauro.
Source: Museum Victoria

The Immigration Discovery Centre can help you locate primary records and family history documents across a range of archives and genealogical institutions. Some initial steps for unearthing your family history online are described below.

Pre 1923 passenger lists: Victoria

The Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) holds records from the beginnings of colonial Victoria in the mid-1830s until today, including pre-1923 passenger lists to Victoria.

To Access pre 1923 passenger list indexes:

Go to the PROV website
Scroll down the page to menu at bottom right and select Passenger Lists.
Under Passenger lists choose Unassisted Inward Passenger Lists to Victoria 1852–1923 or Assisted British Immigration 1939 –1871. (You may need to search both to find the person you are looking for.)
Note the details of the record, including fiche or page number.
You can access the microfiche copies of the original records through PROV or in the State Library of Victoria Genealogy Centre. Some council libraries also have these microfiches.

Pre 1923 passenger lists: Other states

If your ancestor came to another state in Australia prior to 1923, you will need to access the records of that state. Other states have varying amounts of indexes and other records online. A list of these archives can found on this National Archives of Australia Fact sheet.

For further information on tracing your ancestors on pre 1923 passenger lists see our article on Missing ancestors.

Post 1923 passenger lists

National Archives of Australia (NAA) is the central repository for Australian Commonwealth Government records and holds information on immigration, naturalisation and military service, as well as post 1923 passenger lists to Victoria.

It is important to note that only a small percentage of the material archived by the NAA can be found online. If you cannot find the records which you are seeking, please contact the NAA directly through their Making Australia Home project.

To Access National Archives Records Online:

Go to the NAA website.
Click on RecordSearch at top right (under the Google search box).
Click onto Search now as a guest.
There are several search tabs to choose from.

Basic Search will search all records indexed.

Enter the first and surname of the person you are looking for.
Scroll down the records to see if they are there.
Digitised records display a symbol in the Digitised item column.
You can also search for just a passenger list by typing [name of ship] + passenger list in the keyword field.

Name Search to search specific types of records, including immigration and military records.

Enter the surname of the person you are looking for.
Choose the type of record from the drop down.
When the search is complete, click Refine search button to enter the first name.

Passenger list index has lists of ships that arrived in 1921 to 1949 that passed through Fremantle. Even if the ship finished its journey in another state, it may have landed in Fremantle first.

Useful Contacts

Immigration Discovery Centre
The Immigration Discovery Centre (IDC) offers a range of information about immigration and immigrant communities in Victoria, immigrant travel and starting your family history research.

Victorian Archives Centre (PROV & NAA)
Public Record Office Victoria and the National Archives of Australia share a reading room at the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne.

State Library of Victoria Genealogy Centre
The State Library's Genealogy Centre provides access to a variety of resources for family historians and genealogists.

Local Genealogical & Historical Societies
The Ballarat & District Genealogical Society website provides contact details for local societies located in Northern & Western Victoria.

Births, deaths & marriages
Contacts for Victorian and interstate Births, deaths & marriages registrars are on this NAA Fact Sheet.

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Comments (61) popular | oldest | newest

i need pictures of the shps nelly or nellie and the flamminia. ,how do i get them?

You can search for images of ships at the genealogist web site, Coraweb or the online image database Picture Australia. You can also visit The Immigration Discovery Centre to view the shipping resources.

I would like information regarding ships that arrived in Australia in September 1949 - my mother arrived here 60 years ago this year and we want to celebrate her arrival, unfortunately we don't know the name of the ship or the exact date. My mother boarded the ship in Naples Italy (not sure of the date) but do know ship arrived in Melbourne, September 1949. Could you please assist with my inquiry. Many thanks

Hi Sandra,

You can search for your mother's name on the National Archives of Australia (NAA) website - the NAA holds post-1923 passenger lists to Victoria.

You can also contact the NAA directly for further assistance in searching for your mother's records.

I have a medal from the 1880 Melbourne International Echibition which was given to my great grandfather for services. Where can I find information about this medal why he received it. Thank you.

I am trying to find the passenger list/ship that my grandparents came to Australia on. Name:Richard Whatmore B:1836 England Died 1917 Victoria. On his death certificate it states he lived in Victoria for 63 years and 1 year in Tasmania. His parents came to Australia prior to him and died in Tasmania. My G/Grandfather Alexander Hall B 1852 England Died 1925 South Melbourne. On his death certificate it states he lived in Victoria for 40 years. He came with his wife Elizabeth Ann and child Frederick. I have tried everything that i can think of finding their ship. Could you please help me. Thankyou Mary

Hello, Keith. Is your medal something like this one? If so, it may have been awarded for any number of reasons, from "services to the exhibition" to acting as a jury member of some type. In any case, it's a lovely item. Further information about the exhibition itself can be found here.

I am searching for the name of the ship that my ancestor John Minahan arrived in Australia sometime between 1858 and 1859. I have searched the Vic shipping records to no avail. Is it possible that he got off in Sth Aust and travelled to Vic afterwards?

Hi John. Before 1923 each Australian state had its own office for keeping government records, including immigration records. There's a great list of these various archival bodies available online. Try South Australia?

Mary - thanks for your enquiry and sorry about the delay. All records of shipping arrivals to Victoria before 1923 are held by the Public Records Office of Victoria. You can search their shipping arrival records using the indexes available at this part of their website. Hope this helps!

i am researching my mother, she cam to australia on ship dundalk bay arrival fremantle 25/01/1950 arrival melbourne 31/01/1950 name maria ann dimitricko or similar need passenger list to work out my muns proper name

Two uncles BilL John arrived in thelate 1920s or early 1930s from Lancashire moved to Adelaide

i am looking for information of my father thomas christakis who arrived in australia around 1954 to 1956. He came to melbourne for a while and then went to north queensland to work in the sugar canes. He then came back to melbourne and settled down. he was born in 1926 can you please give me dates on exactly the day he arrived and other information you have.

George and Mary: the information that you require is available from the National Archives of Australia. Their records can be searched at this part of their website. Hope this helps!

I would like my ancestory information. My granddad came on the Patris. It was the Patris that arrived on November 1970. Is there anyway i can find the details of their docking and immigration. His name is Halil Ada and my fathernwho came with him is Fethi Ada. Would be greatly appreciated I want to know everything. Dads still alive but getting old and is starting to loose memory. He talks about the Patris with high regards though and thats one thing he can not forget so I thought I would surprise him thanking you. Please respond to email with any information

Looking for a photo of Ship - LADY MILTON arrived in Melbourne 16/7/1857

Hi Judy and thanks for your query. You can search for images of ships on the online image database Picture Australia. You can also visit The Immigration Discovery Centre to view the shipping resources.

I came to Australia in 1968 with my parents on a ship that is now decomishened I think it was called the himmilla I would like to see if our name was on the passenger list?

Hi there, Mariann. See the section above about the National Archives of Australia for information about passenger lists to Australia in the 1960s. You will need to contact that organisation for access to these lists. Hope this helps!

I have four questions relating to my Great Grandfathers voyage to Australia. 1.) Why are all the ships passenger lists from the 1800’s recorded on identical templates? This seems strange given changes that would have been likely to occur in basic stationary paper ect. 2.) Were the lists created as the passengers boarded the ships, or when they arrived at port? (like Melbourne for example) 3.) How can you tell if a passenger boarded the ship from another port along the way? 4.) My Great Grand father apparently came to Australia via Sth Africa in around 1870 I'm imagining that he may have boarded a ship that docked in Cape Town on its way to Melbourne? Is it likely that ships bound for Melbourne would take on passengers on from Sth Africa?

Hi. Are there online passenger lists for ships arriving in Victoria in 1851? The Pulic Records Office lists start at 1852.

Hi Kaye. PROV does hold some passenger lists prior to 1852. For this see their Index of Assisted British Immigration 1839-1871. For all other records prior to 1852 you'll need to search the State Records NSW online immigration and shipping indexes. As the state of Victoria didn't exist before 1852, records prior to this date were recorded by the colony of NSW and are still kept there.

My uncle Edwin V Hunt, aged 14,came to Aus via Sth Africa leaving London 7 Feb 1929 on the ship Beltana, but I can't find any reference to where the ship docked in Aus and his name on any passenger list. Have searched NAA and WA arrivals sites. He seems to have completely disappeared, not on any immigration lists. So where do I go fromo here?

Passenger lists are recorded on identical templates as the authorities were required to register people when they entered the country, as they are today. These were official forms that were then entered into the archives. Passenger lists in the Public Record Office of Victoria (PROV) are official state documents that were filled out on arrival. The ships themselves may have had separate passenger lists of their own. In the UK the National Archives holds Outgoing Passenger Lists.

If the ship left from the UK and the person’s name is not on there, it is likely they boarded along the way. The passengers were probably recorded when they came on board. These would be in the shipping company archives if they still exist. There is a set of books in the Discovery Centre at Immigration Museum called Log of Logs that list ships and any archival material that exists on them. Ships to Australia did go via South Africa and you may wish to try the South African archives to see what information they hold about outgoing passengers but usually the port of embarkation is indicated on the incoming passenger lists at PROV in any case and you should begin by searching them.

Hi Prue. Only 10% of the National Archives records are online. Your Uncle's records will be held there but you will need to contact them directly to request them.

I'm wondering how I go about determining if my dad and uncle are perhaps among the earliest immigrants to Australia still living. They arrived in 1932 at the ages of 8 and 9 - and are now 86 and 87. I know there are older immigrants still alive, but many of them arrived as adults.

Cathy, there are so many living immigrants in Australia that determining this for certain would be a near-impossible research task. Still, it's great to learn that your father and his brother are still alive after having migrated at such a young age, so long ago. Thanks for sharing this.

I will have ancestors who came to Victoria Australia on the vessel Ocean Cheif. On the passenger records from PROV it says they left a British Port. Is it possible to find out which port this was?

Hi Catherine, the full passenger lists, including information about which port the ship left from, can be found on microfiche at PROV in the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne or the State Library of Victoria's Genealogy Centre.

great grandfather- contractor

I am trying to find information on the arrival of my relatives on the louisa bailley that sailed into port phillip in mid 1853 and it came from san francisco. There does not seem to be any passenger lists for this ship I do know a family member was actually born on it on the wat to aus. Any hints on where i could find the list?

Hi Amanda, I will send you some useful links for your family history research!

Hi, Just wondering what resources are available to research my grandmother's journey as the war bride of an American Marine in the 1940's? I know she went to America but then she and my grandfather had returned here by 1948 when my mother was born. Unfortunately since they were married in 1943 they just missed out on being in the BDM index which ends in 1942.

Australian BDM records are ongoing, Bec, so you should be able to order a copy of the 1943 wedding certificate from the relevant state registry if it took place here. We don't have much experience doing similar research using American archives, but there seems to be some useful online lists and resources concerning the US. Reference to the wedding may also have been made in later documents produced by Australian state and federal governments, even if they were not directly concerned with the event.

Hi I arrived in Melbourne Jan 1951 on the Fairsea from Germany aged 3 and would like to track down the passenger list if possible. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated

Hi Edward, please read the section of the infosheet about that discusses the National Archives of Australia and details how to search immigration records on their database. If you can't find your records there, don't worry - just contact the NAA directly and they will provide you with them.

Am trying to find out how my Gr Gr Grandfather came to Australia since he didnt travel with his wife or family on the same ship, and he defintely did follow (or arrived prior to them), as he died in Cheltenham Asylum Vic in 1911.

I have been searching high and low for information on my arrival in Australia from Great Britain. I arrived with my parents William Reilly and Elspeth Noble Reilly by plane in 1964 (around July I believe) but can find nothing. I can only find information on ship arrivals not aircraft.

Hi Jan. Records prior to 1911 are kept with each state's archive. You should search the Public Record Office of Victoria (PROV) as detailed in the above information sheet. If you have already done this or have no luck it might be possible that he didn't come to Victoria first. In this case you'll need to contact the archives of other states to search for him. His death certificate may also have information on when he came to Australia, which might help narrow your search. You may also want to contact PROV to see if they have any archives for Cheltenham Asylum, in which you can search for his records and perhaps find out further information.

Hi Shonna, the NAA holds all immigration records whether the immigrant arrived on a ship or a plane. If you can't find your records on the NAA site as described above it might be for a couple of reasons. If you were very young you would have come under your mother's or father's passport so you should search for their names on the website. The other likely reason is that your records are not part of the 10% that are indexed online as we've indicated above.

Denis and Nora Foley sailed on S.S.Osterely in May 1922. Have ashtray from ship, would love more info on them if poss? Married to John Foley, nephew of Denis Foley living in Republic of Ireland.

Hi Eileen, do you want to know more information about their passage to Australia or general family history information? Perhaps you could ask us some specific questions related to your research through our Ask the experts pages and we can then point you in the right direction.

Hi I would like to know if you have photos of the following ships or any info on them Westminster c 1841 Anne Milne c 1852 General Hewitt c 1855 Tasmania c 1851 Frances Charlotte c 1837 Kinnear c 1848 Chance c 1857 Indrapura c 1914 Thank you

I would like my ancestory information. We arrived in Melbourne on the Patris. It was the Patris that arrived on September 1971. Is there anyway i can find the details of the docking and immigration. I arrived with my mother and brothers & sisters. My mother's given name is Macide and the surname would have been Mustafa. Would greatly appreciated passenger list details etc.. Please respond to email with any information. Regards Hakan

Hi Clare,

Please refer to the answer given on 22nd April 2009.

Hi Hakan, this infosheet is all about how to find such details. Please have a read of it and I'm sure you'll find out how to search for and obtain the information.

My grandparents arrived in Melbourne Australia in 1959 aboard the Toscana and i have been trying to find the passenger list from that ship with their names on it including my mother and her siblings.

you have answered a lot of questions, and given myself and others a lot of answers and a place to start. so thank you.eight

Thanks for your feedback Janice! And you are very welcome.

Hi my great,great,great grandfather arrived from the port of Liverpool on 28th February 1857 but i cannot not decipher the ships name at all. His name was Guiseppe Porra and his naturalization record is in the national archives of Australia. Please any help would be very grateful.

Hi, Could you tell me what date the Achille Lauro which arrived in Melbourne on 31/07/1969 departed South Hampton ? Thanks + Regards, Niall

Hi My G/g.father Daniel Henry Regan or O'Regan or Oregan, got married in 1862 in Maryborough Queensland. I don't know when he arrived in Australia or what ship he travelled on, he was born in Kilkenny Ireland in 1836. How can I find out what ship and when he arrived. Any help will be very grateful. Regards Doreen

Hi Doreen, check out some of the tips above, you will need to search the Queensland archives if he arrived into Queensland. Perghaps have a look at the Australian Society of Archives for links and information.

Hi Doreen, you should probably start with the shipping lists for Queensland and search for your ancestor there. If this does not yield any results you may need to contact the Queensland Archives or search in other states shipping lists. A great information sheet on how to use the passenger list indexes for the various states can be found on the State Library of Queensland website.

Hey, I am trying to find the names of one of my ancestors parents, but i am finding it difficult to find it, as i have little information on this side of the family. Any tips? Regards, Michael

Hi Michael. The general rule with all family history research is to start with you and work backwards, obtaining birth, death and marriage certificates, as well as relevant immigration information for your family members. It sounds like you might need to obtain some records such as these to trace the name of your ancestor. Good information about family history research can be found in the State Library of Victoria Genealogy Centre's online Family History Research Guides.

Hi, I know my ancestors Henry Boyd Mercer and Deborah Sinclair were married in Victoria in 1859, and I have approximate birth years for them and the names of their parents from their death notices, but I can't find any online birth records for them -- I don't know if they were born in Victoria or immigrated there. How would I go about finding this information? Are Victoria's pre-1850 birth records available online?

i am trying to find my Nonna on the records.i have tryed numerous sites but have had no luck she came from Zolli, italy in 1962 to melbourne, australia on achille lauro. any idea whrer i can find a passenger list ?

Hi Mel, You will need to contact the National Archives of Australia for a passenger list.

Hi I stubled across this page, and I believe that Mariann Scully nee Hestehauge is my australian cousin!!! I would very much like to get in contact with her, could someone help me with an adress or email??? :o)

Can you tell me the exact arrival date of ship Achille Lauro into Adelaide in July or August 1969

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