Records of passenger arrivals in Australia (and to a lesser extent departures) are one of the best known sources of genealogical information.
Passenger lists are held from 1852 to 1973, when lists were discontinued. Passenger cards began in 1948. As the format and arrangement of these records vary, so does the amount of useful information available. The passenger arrivals index on RecordSearch is an online database that includes the names from passenger lists in the National Archives series K269, Inward passenger manifests for ships and aircraft arriving at Fremantle, Perth Airport and outports, chronological series, 1898–1978. The index currently includes arrivals up to, and including, 1964.
Passenger lists and cards are usually arranged chronologically within the port of arrival, or at least states. A place and approximate date of arrival is needed to use these records efficiently.
Passenger records held in Adelaide
Passenger records held in Brisbane
Passenger records held in Canberra
Passenger records held in Hobart
Passenger records held in Melbourne
Passenger records held in Perth
Passenger records held in Sydney
To effectively search in the records for family members you need to know how and when they arrived. Unfortunately, there are no comprehensive name indexes for passenger records.
For arrivals by sea between 1898 and 1964 (arriving in, or travelling through, the port of Fremantle or other Western Australian ports), and arrivals by aircraft between 1944 and 1964 (to Perth Airport or travelling through), try searching the passenger arrivals index.
Go to Search the collection and then RecordSearch. Select the 'Passenger arrivals index' tab at the top right of the screen to display the search screen.