Passenger records held in Sydney – Fact sheet 64

Passenger records provide a valuable source of genealogical (family history) information. Most of the records are 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 lists

Port of Sydney

The Archives Sydney office holds inwards and outwards ships passenger lists for the port of Sydney from 1923 onwards. Inwards passenger lists for 1923 to 1966 are available on microfilm in the Sydney office reading room at Chester Hill and the Sydney Records Centre at The Rocks.

An alphabetical card index by ship name, also available on microfilm, is held for inwards ships passenger lists for the years 1923 to 1951. We also hold an incomplete set of passenger lists for the period 1915 to 1922 created by the Customs Service. These records have not been microfilmed but are all listed on RecordSearch at an item level. The complete set of passenger lists prior to 1923 is held by State Records New South Wales.

Inwards aircraft passenger lists are also held for Sydney from 1936 to August 1974 (microfilm copies are available for the years 1936 to 1951). We hold outwards aircraft passenger lists for Sydney from 1941 to August 1974.

Ships and aircraft

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Inwards crew and passenger lists for Australian ports	1915–23	SP83/11
	Alphabetical index to ships carrying passengers arriving at Sydney	1923–51	C3109
	Passenger lists, inwards ships, Sydney	1923–	C1115
	Passenger lists, outwards ships, Sydney	1923–64	SP1148/2
	Passenger lists, outwards ships, Sydney	1965–	C1116
	Passenger lists, inwards aircraft, Sydney (Rose Bay and Mascot)	1936–64	C3458
	Passenger lists, outwards aircraft, Sydney	1941–64	SP1148/2
	Passenger lists, inwards aircraft, Sydney (series finishes on 10 August 1974)	1965–74	SP1150/1
	Passenger lists, outwards aircraft, Sydney (series finishes in August 1974)	1965–74	SP1150/3

Port of Newcastle

Inwards and outwards ships passenger lists for the port of Newcastle dating from 1865 are also held (microfilm copies are available for the years 1865 to 1905). Access to the lists for the years 1906 to 1935 may be restricted as they are in a fragile condition and are progressively undergoing preservation treatment and microfilming.

Port of Newcastle

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Crew and passenger lists, inwards and outwards ships, Newcastle	1865–1935	C667
	Passenger lists, inwards ships, Newcastle	1949–72	SP1151/1
	Passenger lists, outwards ships, Newcastle	1950–72	SP1151/2

International Refugee Organisation

The Sydney office also holds copies of nominal rolls for immigrants arriving in Australia during the period 1947–55 under resettlement schemes sponsored by the International Refugee Organisation. These are held in the record series C1492. If you are unable to locate a passenger list for a ship likely to be conveying refugees in the main series of ships arriving in Sydney (series C1115), you may find a nominal roll of passengers included in C1492.

Other ships passenger lists

We also hold microfilm copies of the following passenger lists.

Sources in other offices of the Archives

The Archives offices in each capital city hold collections of passenger lists, both originals and copies on microfilm. In addition, the lists and registers in the table above are available on microfilm in each of these offices.

Further information on passenger lists held the Archives is available in the following fact sheets:

• Passenger records held in Canberra
• Passenger records held in Perth
• Passenger records held in Melbourne
• Passenger records held in Hobart
• Passenger records held in Brisbane
• Passenger records held in Adelaide

Earlier passenger records

Passenger records for the Port of Sydney prior to 1923 are held by State Records New South Wales.

Earlier passenger records for other states are generally held by the relevant state archives.