State Archives Collection
Making history every day
Immigration & shipping
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Assisted immigrants (digital) shipping lists
Browse through digital shipping lists from 1828-1896
Assisted Immigrants Index 1839-1896
Assisted immigrants arriving in Sydney and Newcastle 1844-59, Moreton Bay 1848-59 and Port Phillip 1839-51
Digital shipping lists
A snapshot of how to use digital shipping lists
German migration stories
The first 'assisted immigrants' (predominately British) began arriving as early as 1828 but it was not until 1847 that the Colonial Government widened the scheme to include European workers with special skills, such as vine dressing and carpentry
Immigration & shipping guide
Key records and available indexes, relating to passengers arriving in New South Wales, 1788-1922
Immigration and shipping revisited
Introduction to immigration and shipping records, and how to locate arrivals into Sydney before 1923, including by convicts and their families, free arrivals, crew and military
Letters re migration to NSW 1838-1857
These letters were sent by the Immigration Agent in response to complaints, transport arrangements, advertisements and financial arrangements relating to migration between 1838 and 1857. This index covers the names of individuals found in the letters
Miscellaneous immigrants index 1828-1843
Search for passengers who paid their own fare and also assisted immigrants. Information includes: name, ship, date of arrival, age and events (e.g. shipwreck)
Shipping & free passenger records
This guide will assist researchers tracing free persons arriving in and departing from NSW as well as the movement of vessels
Teaching English to post-WWII migrants
The arrival of post World War II migrants has had a profound effect on the nature and diversity of Australian society. This Guide helps to commemorate cultural diversity in NSW by bringing together State archives that document the provision of education to migrants in the latter part of the 20th century. The records listed in this Guide reflect the changing role of government administration in adapting to a new era of immigration.
Unassisted immigrants index 1842-1855
Unassisted (or free) passengers who came to Australia at their own expense, including ships' crew and military (check under 'Regiments'). This index was compiled by Ms Aileen Trinder and Ms Pat Fearnley (formerly Stemp) of Pastkeys
Vessels arrived in Sydney 1837-1925
This index relates to vessels arriving in Sydney only for the period 1837 to 1925. It records the name and type of vessel, and date of arrival. If you know the name of the ship, this index will be useful to check or confirm the date of arrival. There are 120,133 entries.