Passenger records held in Adelaide – Fact Sheet 256
Passenger records provide a valuable source of information for family historians. Passenger records are generally 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 records for South Australia
The National Archives Adelaide Office holds inwards and outwards ships passenger lists for the port of Adelaide from 1941 to 1976, though there are gaps in the holdings for the years 1964 to 1976. Adelaide inwards passenger lists from 1941 to 1964 are available on microfilm in all National Archives' reading rooms (see table below). A small number of aircraft passenger lists for arrivals at South Australian airports for the period 1951 to 1972 are also held in Adelaide.
Records of arrivals after 1976 are held in Canberra – Passenger records held in Canberra
Passenger records for South Australian ports prior to 1941 are held by State Records of South Australia.
Passenger records – ships and aircraft
| Series title | Date range | Series number | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Monthly immigration returns (returns for 1919–25 also include some inwards passenger lists) | 1919–46 | D1986 |
| Register of passenger lists – inwards | 1925–48 | D458 |
| Ships passenger lists (Form P2) – inwards Port Adelaide [also available on microfilm] | 1941–64 | D5077 |
| Ships passenger lists – outwards Port Adelaide | 1941–64 | AP473/1 |
| Inwards passenger cards | 1948–50 | AP475/1 |
| Passenger manifests (Form P1) – outwards Port Pirie | 1964 | AP846/5 |
| Passenger manifests (Form P2) – inwards Port Lincoln | 1964 | AP846/3 |
| Passenger manifests (Form P2) – inwards Wallaroo | 1964 | AP846/4 |
| Passenger manifests (Form P1) – outwards Port Adelaide | 1964–69 | AP846/2 |
| Passenger manifests (Form M308 – P2) – inwards | 1964–69 | AP846/1 |
| Ships manifests (Form M308) – inwards | 1965–66 | D5078 |
| Shipping passenger manifests – inwards Whyalla | 1969 | AP1263/1 |
| Passenger manifests – inwards Port Adelaide | 1969–73 | AP852/2 |
| Interstate passenger lists – inwards Port Adelaide | 1969–73 | AP852/3 |
| Aircraft passenger manifests – inwards and outwards | 1951–72 | AP1174/2 |
Related records held in Adelaide
Nominal rolls listing immigrants to South Australia may also be useful family history sources. Series containing nominal rolls for some voyages and flights to South Australia are listed in the table below.
Adelaide series containing nominal rolls
| Series title | Date range | Series number | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Correspondence files | 1939–51 | D1976 |
| Ships nominal rolls (foreign) | 1947–50 | D2002 |
| Correspondence files | 1948–66 | D400 |
| Ships nominal rolls and personal documents of assisted British migrants | 1955–58 | AP120/1 |
| Correspondence files | 1966– | D399 |
Ships passenger lists for other Australian ports
The Adelaide Office holds microfilm copies of passenger lists for the following Australian ports.
All National Archives reading rooms hold collections of passenger lists, both originals and microfilm copies.
Collection references
| Series title | Date range | Series number | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crew and passenger lists – inwards and outwards, Newcastle, New South Wales | 1865–84 | C667 |
| Inwards and outwards lists – Darwin, Northern Territory | 1898–1934 | E1019 |
| Ships passenger lists inwards – Brisbane, Queensland | 1852–1964 | J715 |
| Ships passenger lists outwards – Brisbane, Queensland | 1901–11 | J716 |
| Ships passenger lists inwards – Melbourne, Victoria | 1924–64 | B4397 |
How to obtain more information
More information can be obtained from the National Archives' RecordSearch database, available in all reading rooms and on our website. Search using the series numbers that appear in the right hand column of each table.
You can also search for passengers arriving by ship in Fremantle and other Western Australian ports between January 1921 and 15 January 1950 using the online Passenger arrivals index, accessible via RecordSearch. See the Passenger arrivals index.
Other fact sheets on passenger records held in the National Archives collection include: