Passenger records held in Adelaide

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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' research centres, with the exception of the Melbourne research centre (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. For further information please see Fact sheet 38 - 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
Title or description of record 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

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
Title or description of record 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.

Collection references
Title or description of record 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.