Passenger records held in Canberra – Fact sheet 38
Passenger records, which include passenger lists and passenger cards, provide a valuable source of family history information. Most of the records are 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 lists (all ports)
We have passenger lists for all ports of Australia from 1924 (with some gaps). Microfilm copies of these records are available for the years July 1924 to June 1936. For later years you will need to search the original records.
Inwards and outwards
| Series title | Date range | Series number | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ships passenger lists – inwards (Form P2) | 1924–64 | A907 |
| Inwards passenger manifests – ships (Form M308) | 1965– | A1227 |
| Incoming passenger cards – ships and aircraft | 1965–72 | A1197 |
| Ships passenger lists – outwards (Form P1) | 1924–64 | A906 |
| Outwards passenger manifests (Form M310) | 1965– | A1228 |
Other passenger lists
We also hold microfilm copies of the following passenger lists.
Collection references
| Series title | Date range | Series number | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW – Newcastle – crew and passenger lists – inwards and outwards | 1865–1935 | C667 |
| NT – Darwin – inwards and outwards lists | 1898–1949 | E1019 |
| QLD – Bowen – ships lists inwards | 1897–61 | J723 |
| QLD – Brisbane – ships lists inwards | 1852–1964 | J715 |
| QLD – Brisbane – ships lists outwards | 1859–1964 | J716 |
| QLD – Bundaberg – ships lists inwards | 1948–50 | J733 |
| QLD – Cairns – ships lists inwards | 1897–69 | J725 |
| QLD – Gladstone – ships lists inwards | 1924–64 | J717 |
| QLD – Mackay – ships lists inwards | 1924–62 | J729 |
| QLD – Rockhampton – ships lists inwards | 1898–62 | J727 |
| QLD – Thursday Island – ships lists inwards | 1924–64 | J719 |
| QLD – Townsville – ships lists inwards | 1924–64 | J719 |
| SA – Adelaide – ships lists inwards | 1941–64 | D5077 |
| VIC – Melbourne – ships lists inwards | 1924–64 | B4397 |
| WA – Fremantle / Perth – inwards ships and aircraft | 1897–1978 | K269 |
 | WA – Fremantle – shipping registers – arrivals and departures | 1898–1959 | K737 |
| WA – Fremantle – shipping registers – arrivals and departures | 1924–56 | K737 |
Aircraft passenger records held in Canberra
Inwards and outwards
| Series title | Date range | Series number | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft passenger lists – inwards | 1934–48 | A1230 |
| Incoming passenger cards – aircraft | 1948–64 | A1225 |
| Inwards passenger manifests – aircraft | 1948– | A1231 |
| Incoming passenger cards – ships and aircraft | 1965–72 | A1197 |
| Aircraft passenger lists – outwards | 1934–48 | A1229 |
| Outgoing passenger cards – aircraft | 1948–64 | A1226 |
| Outwards passenger manifests – aircraft | 1948– | A1232 |
Other sources in Canberra
Collection references
Passenger records may also be found in the ship’s file (ie the file for the ship on which the individual arrived in Australia). Ships’ files are located in the Department of Immigration’s correspondence file series A446. You may be able to pick up other general or related information from these files.
Please ask reference staff for guidance in finding these records as well as other records of possible interest.
Further information about passenger records held by the Archives
Further information on passenger lists held by offices of the Archives is available in the following fact sheets:
- Passenger records held in Perth
- Passenger records held in Sydney
- Passenger records held in Melbourne
- Passenger records held in Hobart
- Passenger records held in Brisbane
- Passenger records held in Adelaide
Earlier passenger records
Earlier passenger records can be found in the state/territory archives relevant to the ship’s port of arrival.
More information about our genealogical collections is also available.
