Fact sheet 172 – Passenger records held in Melbourne

About the records

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.

Passenger lists for Victorian ports

Records held by the Archives

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.
Melbourne
SeriesInwards assisted passenger list – ships1921–37B4094 
SeriesInwards passenger lists – ships (microfilm)1924–64B4397 
SeriesOutwards passenger lists – ships1924–44MP56/9 
SeriesOutwards passenger lists – ships1944–64B4400 
SeriesInwards passenger lists – ships (Melbourne)1965–71B6542 
SeriesOutwards passenger lists – ships (Melbourne)1965–71B6543 
Geelong
SeriesInwards/outwards passenger lists – ships (Geelong)1965–66MP905/2 
SeriesInwards/outwards passenger lists – ships (Geelong)1966MP990/4 
Portland
SeriesInwards/outwards passenger lists – ships (Portland)1965–66MP905/3 
SeriesInwards/outwards passenger lists – ships (Portland)1966MP990/5 

Earlier passenger records

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.

Other ships passenger lists

Microfilm copies of the following passenger lists are also held in Melbourne.
New South Wales
SeriesNewcastle – Crew and passenger lists, inwards and outwards lists1865–84C667 
Northern Territory
SeriesDarwin – Inwards and outwards lists1898–1934E1019 
Queensland
SeriesBowen – Ships lists inwardsJan 1897–Dec 1962J723 
SeriesBrisbane – Ships lists inwardsAug 1852–Dec 1964J715 
SeriesBundaberg – Ships lists inwardsFeb 1948–Jun 1950J733 
SeriesCairns – Ships lists inwards1897–1964J725 
SeriesGladstone – Ships lists inwardsApr 1924–Sep 1964J717 
SeriesMackay – Ships lists inwardsOct 1924–Oct 1962J729 
SeriesMaryborough – Ships lists inwardsApr 1929–Mar 1950J731 
SeriesRockhampton – Ships lists inwards1898–Oct 1962J727 
SeriesThursday Island – Ships lists inwardsApr 1924–Jan 1964J719 
SeriesTownsville – Ships lists inwards1895–1964J721 
South Australia
SeriesAdelaide – Ships lists inwards1941–64D5077 
Western Australia
SeriesFremantle/ Perth – Inwards ships and aircraft1898–1963K269 

Sources in other offices of the Archives

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:

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 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.

updated January 2009