Passenger records are a valuable source of genealogical (family history) information. Passenger lists are usually arranged by date, name of ship and port of arrival or departure. Unless you know these details your search may be very time-consuming.
The National Archives in Melbourne holds inwards and outwards ships passenger lists for the ports of Melbourne, Geelong and Portland.
Inwards passenger lists for the port of Melbourne for 1924–64 are available on microfilm, while for outwards passenger lists, or inwards lists later than 1964 you will need to search the original records. An alphabetical card index by ship's name is held for the inwards passenger lists. This index lists the dates each ship arrived in Melbourne between 1924 and 1964. There is also a chronological listing of ships' arrivals in Melbourne for 1924–64 which accompanies the microfilm.
Lists for the ports of Geelong and Portland are held only for 1965 and 1966.
 | Inwards assisted passenger list – ships | 1921–37 | B4094 | ||
| Inwards passenger lists – ships (microfilm) | 1924–64 | B4397 | ||
| Outwards passenger lists – ships | 1924–44 | MP56/9 | ||
| Outwards passenger lists – ships | 1944–64 | B4400 | ||
| Inwards passenger lists – ships (Melbourne) | 1965–71 | B6542 | ||
| Outwards passenger lists – ships (Melbourne) | 1965–71 | B6543 | ||
| Inwards/outwards passenger lists – ships (Geelong) | 1965–66 | MP905/2 | ||
| Inwards/outwards passenger lists – ships (Geelong) | 1966 | MP990/4 | ||
| Inwards/outwards passenger lists – ships (Portland) | 1965–66 | MP905/3 | ||
| Inwards/outwards passenger lists – ships (Portland) | 1966 | MP990/5 | ||
Passenger records for Victorian ports prior to 1923 are held by the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV). The PROV and the National Archives operate a joint reading room in Melbourne, known as the Victorian Archives Centre, where microform copies of passenger lists held by both institutions may be viewed. See Fact Sheet 2 – Addresses of other archival institutions for details.
Microfilm copies of the following passenger lists are also held in Melbourne.
| Darwin – Inwards and outwards lists | 1898–1934 | E1019 | ||
| Bowen – Ships lists inwards | Jan 1897–Dec 1962 | J723 | ||
| Brisbane – Ships lists inwards | Aug 1852–Dec 1964 | J715 | ||
| Bundaberg – Ships lists inwards | Feb 1948–Jun 1950 | J733 | ||
| Cairns – Ships lists inwards | 1897–1964 | J725 | ||
| Gladstone – Ships lists inwards | Apr 1924–Sep 1964 | J717 | ||
| Mackay – Ships lists inwards | Oct 1924–Oct 1962 | J729 | ||
| Maryborough – Ships lists inwards | Apr 1929–Mar 1950 | J731 | ||
| Rockhampton – Ships lists inwards | 1898–Oct 1962 | J727 | ||
| Thursday Island – Ships lists inwards | Apr 1924–Jan 1964 | J719 | ||
| Townsville – Ships lists inwards | 1895–1964 | J721 | ||
| Adelaide – Ships lists inwards | 1941–64 | D5077 | ||
| Fremantle/ Perth – Inwards ships and aircraft | 1898–1963 | K269 | ||
The National Archives has offices in each capital city. All reading rooms hold collections of passenger lists, both originals and copies on microfilm. The lists and registers in the table above are available on microfilm in each reading room. See Fact Sheet 1 – Addresses and hours of opening for more information.
Further information on passenger lists held by the Archives is available in:
You can obtain more information about the record series listed above (and the items within the series) from RecordSearch, the Archives database. Follow the links in the series lists to go directly to information on that series. You can also use RecordSearch to find out about the agencies that created the records and to locate more records on your subject. You might also explore PhotoSearch to find out if there are photos pertaining to your subject.
RecordSearch and PhotoSearch are available online or in all Archives reading rooms. Reference staff are available in the reading rooms to help you, or email ref@naa.gov.au.
More information about our genealogical collections is also available from this website.