Fact sheet 184 – Passenger records held in Hobart

Passenger records provide a valuable source of information for family historians. The Archives office in Hobart holds inward and outward passenger lists for the port of Hobart and some lists, cards and related registers for Tasmanian ports of Burnie, Devonport and Launceston. These records are usually arranged by the date, name of the ship, and the port of arrival or departure. Unless you know these details your search may be very time-consuming.

Passenger, crew and ship records for Tasmanian ports

Hobart

	Passenger and crew lists (inward)	1903–51	P2005
	Passenger and crew lists (outward)	1903–51 (with gaps)	P2004

Burnie

Passenger lists (inward & outward)

1939–48

P2031

Devonport

	Register of passenger lists (interstate)	1924–58	P1202
	Register of ships arriving at the port of Devonport	1927–50	P1240

Launceston

	Register of ships arriving at the port of Launceston	1869–1910	P588
	Register of ships leaving the port of Launceston	1930–61 (with gaps)	P1075

Other passenger lists

We also hold microfilm copies of the following passenger lists.

Queensland

Bowen – Ships lists inwards	Jan 1897–Dec 1962	J723
Brisbane – Ships lists inwards	Aug 1852–Dec 1964	J715
Brisbane – Ships lists outwards	Jan 1859–Dec 1964	J716
Bundaberg – Ships lists inwards	Feb 1948–June 1950	J733
Cairns – Ships lists inwards	1897–Oct 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	Jan 1895–Dec 1964	J721

Victoria

Melbourne – Ships lists inward

Apr 1924–Dec 1964

B4397

Sources in other offices of the National Archives

Other offices of the Archives, located in each capital city, also hold collections of passenger lists as both originals and copies on microfilm. Contact the office closest to you to inquire about its holdings. See Fact Sheet 1– Addresses and hours of opening.

Further information on passenger lists held by Offices of the Archives is available in:

Fact Sheet 38 – Passenger records held in Canberra
Fact Sheet 56 – Passenger records held in Perth
Fact Sheet 64 – Passenger records held in Sydney
Fact Sheet 172 – Passenger records held in Melbourne
Fact Sheet 190 – Passenger records held in Brisbane
Fact Sheet 256 – Passenger records held in Adelaide

Earlier passenger records for Tasmanian ports

The Archives Office of Tasmania holds passenger records for the port of Hobart for the years earlier than 1903, though no similar records are held for the ports of Burnie, Devonport or Launceston. See Fact Sheet 2 – Addresses of other Australian archival institutions for details.

For more information

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 and in all Archives reading rooms. Reference staff are available in the reading rooms to help you, or email ref@naa.gov.au.

Further information about records relating to Tasmania's maritime past is provided in Fact Sheet 37 – Maritime records held in Hobart.

You will find more information for family historians on our website.

updated January 2009