What do I need to know?

Our shipping list below is a great place to start when searching for a family member who may have arrived in Victoria by boat. Did the person arrive into Victoria from overseas ports between 1852 and 1923? The lists are sometimes called “unassisted passenger lists”, as immigrants funded the cost of their own voyage.

 

How do I search?

  • Search by any or several keywords you may know (for example the name, year, ship etc.)
  • Some names may be abbreviated (for example ' J' Smith or simply 'Mr' Smith)
  • For a more exact name search use 'AND' between first and last name.
  • Consider using the filter option (for example 1854) to further refine your search and/or the sort functionality by clicking on the headings of each column.  

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

About these records

Inward overseas passenger lists are sometimes called “unassisted passenger lists”, as immigrant funded the cost of their own voyage. These records contain passenger details usually including their occupation and nationality.

Next Steps

You can view Unassisted Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports, Foreign and New Zealand) Record Series (VPRS) 947 on Ancestry.com.au 

To view these records for free within Public Record Office Victoria Reading Rooms: Reading Room Access Only