Australia, Victoria, Assisted Immigrant Arrivals at Victorian Ports - FamilySearch Historical Records

	This article describes a collection of historical records scheduled to become available at FamilySearch.org.
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Record Description[edit | edit source]

This collection includes records from 1839-1871. Included is a card file index documenting arrivals of assisted immigrants into Victorian ports. Approximately 65,000 cards are located in the Geelong Heritage Centre in Geelong, Australia. Among the files, there may be birth, marriage, immigration and death records. Assisted immigrants and other immigrants are identified below:

Prior to 1900, there were four classes of immigrants to Australia:

Convicts: Sent to Australia after they were tried and convicted for crimes committed in the British Isles. Tasmania and New South wales were the states that received most of the convicts before 1830.

Bounty Immigrants: Chosen by Australian colonists to come from the British Isles to Australia.

Assisted Immigrants: Came to Australia by having all or part of their passage paid for by an outside agent, a private individual (usually a family member), the government, or a combination of the three.

Paying Passengers: Came to Australia through their own means.

Until the 19th century, a large portion of what is now Victoria, Australia was part of the New South Wales Territory. As such, some records for arrivals at Victorian Ports may also be in New South Wales archives and databases.

Record Content[edit | edit source]

Passenger Lists
Passenger Lists

Birth Records may include:

Name
Gender
Date and Place of Birth
Parents' Names (Including Mother's Maiden Name)
Residency

Marriage Records may include:

Date and Place of Marriage
Groom's Name, Age and Occupation
Groom's Parents' Names
Bride's Name, Age and Occupation
Bride's Parents' Names

Immigration Records may include:

Name
Nationality
County of Origin
Date of Arrival

Death Records may include:

Name and Age of Deceased
Date and Place of Death
Date and Place of Burial
Cause of Death
Date and Place of Birth
Marital Status

How to Use the Record[edit | edit source]

Search the Collection[edit | edit source]

To search by index:
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To search by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links:
⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page
⇒Select the name range to see the images

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

When searching:
As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Tips in Using These Records[edit | edit source]

Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
You may need to search using a nickname.
Check for variant spellings of the names.
Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank or status within the community.
Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.
Search the records of nearby localities (Tasmania, New South Wales, South Australia).
See the Related FamilySearch Historical Records section of this article for other collections that may be helpful.
Most genealogical records found in Australia are in English. However, due to immigrants coming from various countries throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, variations in spelling may appear in many of the records. See Australia Language and Languages for further help.

Don't overlook FS Library Place Australia, Victoria items or FS Library Keyword Australia, Victoria items in the FamilySearch Library Catalog. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see Australia Archives and Libraries.

Related Websites[edit | edit source]

Related FamilySearch Historical Records[edit | edit source]

Contributions to This Article[edit | edit source]

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Citations for This Collection[edit | edit source]

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information (often called citing your sources). This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation

Collection Citation:
The citation for this collection can be found on the Collection Details Page in the section Cite This Collection.

Record Citation

When looking at a record, the citation is found below the record. You can search records in this collection by visiting the search page for Australia, Victoria, Assisted Immigrant Arrivals at Victorian Ports, 1839-1871.

Image Citation This template has been deprecated and is no longer used.

The image citation will be available once the collection is published.