Exiles and Emigrants
Epic Journeys to Australia in the Victorian Era

Online resources about immigration, shipping and passengers

The following resources are a good first step to researching your family history in Australia.

 

• Immigration Discovery Centre – Immigration Museum
  The Immigration Discovery Centre is a place where you can start your family history, research immigration themes or leave your migration story. The centre holds a unique collection of books on Australia's immigration history, and offers online access to relevant websites. You can combine a visit to the Discovery Centre with the Immigration Museum, or just pop along to the Centre for research and information.
  Open 10am to 5pm daily
  Ground floor, Immigration Museum, Flinders Street Melbourne
   
  Origins interactive
  The Origins Interactive is located within Immigration Museum. It profiles over 70 communities that have arrived and settled in Victoria, from the 1830s to the present based on census data. The information is also available online at the Immigration Discovery Centre.
• Public Record Office Victoria
  Main Reading Room
  99 Shiel St, North Melbourne
  PROV is the state archives of Victoria. Public Reading Rooms at Ballarat and North Melbourne provide access to government records dating back to the beginning of colonial administration.
   
  Unassisted Inward Passenger Lists to Victoria: 1852–1923
  Search the PROV website for names of passengers entering Victoria from overseas ports between 1852 and 1923.
   
  Assisted British Immigration: 1839–1871
  Search the PROV website for names of passengers emigrating from Britain between 1839 and 1871. The journey of 'assisted' passengers was subsidised by the colonial Government.
• National Archives of Australia
  With its vast collection of Commonwealth government files, film and photographs, the National Archives is full of fascination. Dating back to Federation, the collection includes Prime Ministers papers, Cabinet records, railway files, lighthouse plans and many thousands of audio recordings and film. For budding family historians, the Archives’ immigration records include ships’ passenger lists, naturalisation certificates. The Archives also holds the service records of the 1.4 million Australians who served in the two World Wars. The Archives has offices in each State and Territory capital, with its head office in Canberra.
  The Melbourne Reading Room is located at 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne.
   
  Record Search – log in as guest
  Search passenger lists and other Commonwealth Government records held by the National Archives of Australia.
• Genealogy Society of Victoria
  The Genealogy Society of Victoria has a large library and excellent facilities for research of family history.
  Level B1, 257 Collins Street, Melbourne. Victoria 3000, Australia

 

There is a great deal of information on immigration and shipping available online. This small selection of resources is a taste of the kind of information available.

• Australian National Maritime Museum
  2 Murray Street Darling Harbour NSW 2009
  GPO Box 5131 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia.
  Telephone 61 2 9298 3777 fax 61 2 9298 3780
• The Maritime History Virtual Archives (Bruzelius)
  A wealth of information about ships, sea travel, including terms and definitions, types of ship, actual ship histories, maritime museums, and fascinating quotes from many sources.
• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
  More than 250,000 links in 150 categories for genealogists.
• GENUKI – UK and Ireland Genealogy
  A great place to start researching your family history in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
• Ships' Logs, Journals, Pictures and Passenger Ship Links
  Australia and New Zealand
  Extensive information about shipping and passengers travelling to and from Australia.