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What do I need to know?
The search form below is a great place to start when searching for a person who may have arrived in Victoria by boat from within Australia.
Indexers transcribed the names and ages recorded on lists of passengers aboard ships which arrived at Victorian ports from interstate, between 1852 and 1923 (for passengers post 1923, try searching records of the National Archives of Australia). The lists, which were submitted to Victorian customs officials on departure, are formally known as “Inward Passenger Lists (Australian Ports)” but usually called simply “coastal passenger lists”.
How do I search?
- Consider trying different spelling variations
- Search by any or several keywords you may know (for example, the name, year, ship, and so on)
- Some names may be abbreviated (for example, ' J' Smith or simply 'Mr' Smith)
- Note that young children are sometimes listed as "child with" and their parents' surname.
What are in these records?
The records generally include the following information about each passenger:
- first name and surname
- marital status
- age
- sex
- ports of embarkation and disembarkation
Also frequently recorded are:
- nationality
- occupation
Information recorded about the ship includes:
- name of ship’s captain
- dates of departure and arrival at each port
- total number of passengers
Find passengers in these lists
About these records
Inward passenger lists for Australian ports were kept by various immigration regulation bodies between 1852 and 1923. These are sometimes called “coastal passenger lists”.
These lists contain the names of passengers travelling to Victoria from other ports within Australia.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware the collection and website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.
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.
PROV provides advice to researchers wishing to access, publish or re-use records about Aboriginal Peoples.