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Ship and passenger records: print resources

Ship and passenger records

Ship and passenger records are found throughout the National Library in books, journals, newspapers, manuscripts, microform, pictures, maps and electronic media. Material includes information on ships, voyages, shipping companies, shipping and passenger lists and registers, shipwrecks, whaling, shipping arrivals and departures in Australian ports, logs, journals, diaries and voyage narratives, and ships' illustrations.

The majority of immigration records available at the National Library relate to the nineteenth century. Records for the early twentieth century can be found at various state archives and records offices. After 1922, immigration became a Commonwealth responsibility and these records are held in the National Archives of Australia.

Catalogue search tips

To find information on ships and passenger records, search options include Browse subjects and Keywords.

Examples of Browse subjects searches are:

An example of a Keywords search:

  • Immigrants Cornwall

Reference collection

Items below with call numbers commencing with RX, mc and mfm are available in the Newspapers and Microforms Reading Room. All other items are available via the Main Reading Room.

How to Find Shipping and Immigration Records in Australia. 2002.
Cora Num's invaluable guide to finding records in Australia. The indexes, arranged by state, include a diary index, place index, ship index and subject index. RXq 929.1072 N971-5.

Passenger lists

Most passenger lists held at the National Library are in microform format and are available in the Newspapers and Microforms Reading Room. Further information on how to find these items can be found in Family history sources in the Newspapers and Microforms Reading Room.

Shipping

Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping. 1764-1949.
Lists names and details, in yearly volumes, of ships registered . This publication has changed title over the years and each new title has its own record in the catalogue. See the Former Title section of the catalogue record. CAC Sq 656.6 LLO. (Available for browsing in the Closed Access Collection). Also available on microfilm at mc 2143.
Log of Logs: a Catalogue of Logs, Journals, Shipboard Diaries, and all Forms of Voyage Narratives, 1788-1998, for Australia and New Zealand and Surrounding Oceans. 1990-1998.
Comprehensive listing in three volumes. RX 387.5099 N625.
Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Sydney. 1964-1988.
Listing compiled from contemporary sources. These three volumes relate to Sydney for the period 1788-1844, but the same is available for other ports. N 387.2099441 S557 (request through the catalogue).
Australian Steamships: Past and Present. 1928.
Covers steamships from the first arrival in 1831. Contains brief descriptions and many illustrations. N 656.6 GRE (request through the catalogue).
Passenger Ships of Australia and New Zealand. 1981+
In two volumes covering the period 1876-1980. Contains details of 225 different passenger ships, ranging from small cargo ships to fully fledged passenger lines. Nq 387.2044 P732 (request through the catalogue).
Emigrant Ships to Luxury Liners: Passenger Ships to Australia and New Zealand 1945-1990 . 1992.
Includes vessels ranging from migrant ships to liners. Also includes details of some cruise ships which visited the area. NLq 387.243099 P732 (request through the catalogue).
Australian Migrant Ships 1946-1977. 2006.
Contains information drawn from newspapers and marine publications. Includes many photographs. NLq 387.20994 P732 (request through the catalogue).
Convict Ships, 1787-1868. 1983.
Includes a complete list of all the ships which carried prisoners to Australia, with the names of their masters and surgeons, their departure and arrival dates and the number of prisoners each carried. RF 365.994 B329.
Fairplay. [Shipping Journal]. 1924+
Title varies. Contains volume index in the front of the journal. Sq 387.05 FAI (request through the catalogue).
Lloyd's Maritime Atlas Including a Comprehensive List of Ports and Shipping Places of the World. 1951+
Title varies. Contents include maps, geographical list of ports and shipping places, and an index. S 387.1 LLO (request through the catalogue).
Marine Encyclopaedic Dictionary. 1996.
An encyclopaedia of marine-related terms, abbreviations and organisations. Defines over 20,000 technical shipping expressions as well as Latin terms used in law and business. RF 387.503 S949-5.
Merchant Fleets in Profile. 1978+
Title varies. Each of the 14 volumes gives a concise history of a shipping line and details the construction and history of each ship in the fleet. RF 387.50942 MER.
Ships' Deserters, 1852-1900 Including Stragglers, Strays and Absentees from H.M. Ships. 1986.
Contains approximately 10,000 notified desertations, and other absences by seamen, which occurred throughout the Australasian colonies. Records taken from the NSW Government Gazette and the NSW Police Gazette. RX 929.39 M528.

Shipwrecks

Dictionary of Disasters at Sea During the Age of Steam, including Sailing Ships and Ships of War Lost in Action, 1824-1962. 1969.
Two volumes dealing mainly with the loss of merchant ships in peace and war. A number of naval casualties are also described. RF 910.453 H685.
Shipping Losses and Casualties Concerning Australia and New Zealand. 2003.
Covers wrecks or serious damage to ships owned in Australia or New Zealand, where ever they occurred. Extensive coverage from early colonial period to the 1970s and some up to present day. In two volumes. Nq 910.4520994 P269 (request through the catalogue).

Pictures

Ships' Pictures Index 1491-1991: An Index to Ships' Pictures in Print. 1995.
Comprises of three microfiche. McN 1310.
Ships in Australian Waters: A Pictorial History from the Days of the Early Explorers to the Present Time. 1968.
Includes photographs dating back to the middle of the 19th century as well as illustrations reproduced from engravings, woodcuts, lithographs and paintings. RF 387.2 W726.
Illustrated Sydney News. 1990.
Index to illustrations of ships, ports, places and other items of general maritime interest for the period 1853-1889 inclusive. Series Title: Maritime Illustration Index 1. Nq 387.50994 I29.
Illustrated London News. 1990.
Index to illustrations of ships, ports, places and other items of general interest to Australia and New Zealand for the period 1842-1891 inclusive. Series Title: Maritime Illustration Index 2. Nq 387.50994 I29.
Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil. 1990.
Index to illustrations of ships, ports, places and other items of general maritime interest for the period 1873-1889 inclusive. Series Title: Maritime Illustration Index 3. RXq 387.50994 A938.

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