The National Archives office in Perth holds inwards and outwards passenger lists for the port of Fremantle and other ports in Western Australia – including Albany, Broome, Bunbury, Busselton, Carnarvon, Cossack, Derby, Geraldton, Onslow and Port Hedland, Point Sampson and Wyndham and Perth airports.

As Fremantle was often the first port of call for passenger ships from Europe and Britain, many of the Fremantle arrival lists also contain the names of 'in-transit' passengers who were intending to disembark at later ports.

Inwards passenger lists

Holdings of inwards passenger lists for the port of Fremantle date from 1898 and are available as microfilm (1898–1963) or as original records (from 1964). Copies of the microfilmed lists are also held by the National Archives reading rooms in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, and the J S Battye Library, Perth.

A list of passengers arriving at Albany between 1873 and 1925 is held on microfiche. The list was compiled from passenger records held by the National Archives and the State Records Office of Western Australia by the WA Genealogical Society. Copies are also held by the library of the WA Genealogical Society and the Library and Information Service of Western Australia (LISWA).

Details of the inwards passenger records held by the Archives in Perth are listed below.

Inwards passenger lists for Western Australian ports

Outwards passenger lists

Outwards passenger lists for the port of Fremantle date from 1898, though there are gaps in the holdings for the years 1915–20 and 1935. Aircraft departure lists date from 1958.

Passenger lists for the period 1898 to 1910 record outwards passengers departing for overseas, interstate or intrastate destinations. After 1910 the lists include only passengers travelling overseas.

Outwards passenger lists for Western Australian ports

Passenger lists for Western Australian ports before 1898

Passenger lists for Western Australian ports predating those held by the National Archives are held by the State Records Office of Western Australia. See Fact Sheet 2 – Addresses of other archival institutions for details.

The Perth office also holds microfilm copies of the inwards passenger lists for various Queensland ports (1852–1964), Newcastle (1865–81), Darwin (1898–1934) and Melbourne (1924–64). Related records such as nominal rolls, crew lists (from 1897) and ships registers (inwards and outwards) for Fremantle and other Western Australian ports from 1898 are also held.

For details of passenger records held in other offices of the Archives see:

• Fact Sheet 38 – Passenger records held in Canberra
• Fact Sheet 64 – Passenger records held in Sydney
• Fact Sheet 172 – Passenger records held in Melbourne
• Fact Sheet 184 – Passenger records held in Hobart
• Fact Sheet 190 – Passenger records held in Brisbane
• Fact Sheet 256 – Passenger recordsheld in Adelaide 

Addresses for National Archives offices are provided in Fact Sheet 1 – Addresses and hours of opening.