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Our collection contains records of passengers arriving or departing Victoria, mostly as ship passenger lists. 

They are divided into:

1. inward bound passengers 

  • “assisted” (subsidised)
  • “unassisted” (paying their own way), or
  • “coastal” (travelling to Victoria from an Australian port), and     

2. outward bound passengers, regardless of destination.

What do I need to know before I start?

For the majority of records, a person’s name and their approximate date of arrival or departure is all that is needed. Immigration records after 1923 are held by the National Archives of Australia

View online or at the Reading Room?

Look for the icons below to identify if records are viewable online (mouse over globe) or need to be ordered online and then viewed at our Reading Rooms (open book):

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Material in the Public Record Office Victoria archival collection contains words and descriptions that reflect attitudes and government policies at different times which may be insensitive and upsetting

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware the collection and website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

PROV provides advice to researchers wishing to access, publish or re-use records about Aboriginal Peoples

Record Series Number (VPRS): 14
Record Series Number (VPRS): 944
Record Series Number (VPRS): 948
Record Series Number (VPRS): 5978, 5979, 5980, 5981, 5982
Record Series Number (VPRS): 566, 558, 945, 22, 946, 528
Record Series Number (VPRS): 947