National Archives of Australia
Immigration
Prime Minister Ben Chifley and Minister for Immigration Arthur Calwell greet a party of migrant British building tradesmen. The men were bound for Canberra and had arrived at Sydney on the Largs Bay in January 1947.
(NAA: A1200, L21159)People have come to Australia from all over the world, for different reasons and in different ways. The National Archives holds records about many individuals who arrived from overseas during the 20th century and some who arrived during the 19th century. We also hold records about Australians who left and returned to Australia.
Information and records relating to immigration, citizenship and travel
Fact sheets
Memento articles
- Issue 16 – 'Westward bound' (pdf, 934kb)
- Issue 17 – 'Searching for General Heintzelman' (pdf, 929kb)
- Issue 19 – 'Searching for the baltic connection' (pdf, 1.87mb)
- Issue 22 – 'Chinese gold in the Archives' (pdf, 758kb)
- Issue 23 – 'Unearthing Gregory Peck' (pdf, 758kb)
- Issue 23 – 'Bound for South Australia' (pdf, 758kb)
- Issue 23 – 'A summer spent exploring' (pdf, 758kb)
- Issue 24 – 'Passage to freedom' (pdf, 1mb)
- Issue 25 – 'Communists, spies and red tape' (pdf, 1.17mb)
- Issue 26 – 'Secrets and spies: the Harbin files' (pdf, 1.83mb)
- Issue 26 – 'Traders of the Orient' (pdf, 1.83mb)
- Issue 27 – 'Grandma’s Chinese whispers' (pdf, 1.52mb)
- Issue 28 – 'Archives listed on heritage register' (pdf, 1mb)
- Issue 28 – 'The arrival of the Dutch' (pdf, 1mb)
- Issue 29 – 'The untold story of Russian Anzacs' (pdf, 1.68mb)
- Issue 29 – 'New guide to Chinese in Australia' (pdf, 1.68mb)
- Issue 29 – 'New family history kit' (pdf, 1.68mb)
- Issue 30 – 'Searching for Julia' (pdf, 2.51mb)
- Issue 31 – 'War brides: for the love of an Aussie' (pdf, 2.30mb)
- Issue 31 – 'Groundbreaking Greeks' (pdf, 2.30mb)
- Issue 32 – 'Search passenger lists online' (pdf, 2.48mb)
- Issue 33 – 'Mrs O’Keefe and the battle for White Australia' (pdf, 2.73mb)
- Issue 33 – 'From cameleers to citizens: Muslims in Australia, 1901–75' (pdf, 2.73mb)
- Issue 34 – 'Family journeys: stories in the National Archives' (pdf, 2.38mb)
Research guides
- Chinese–Australian Journeys: Records on Travel, Migration, and Settlement, 1860–1975
- Chinese Immigrants and Chinese-Australians in NSW
- Citizenship in Australia: A Guide to Commonwealth Government Records
- Collections in Perth: A Guide to Commonwealth Government Records
- Good British Stock: Child and Youth Migration to Australia
- More People Imperative: Immigration to Australia, 1901–39
- Safe Haven: Records of the Jewish Experience in Australia
Publications
Family Journeys: Stories in the National Archives of Australia
Jordens, Ann-Mari, Alien to Citizen – Settling Migrants in Australia 1945–75, Allen & Unwin in association with the National Archives of Australia, St Leonards NSW, 1997.
