Research Guides: Ships and shipping: Passenger ships

Australian passenger ships

Passenger ships of Australia & New Zealand, Vol.1 1876-1912 by Peter Plowman
Vessels from 21 Australian and 4 New Zealand companies. Builder, date, brief technical details, one-page history and photograph for each ship. Includes colour illustrations of companies' flags and funnels.
Passenger ships of Australia & New Zealand, Vol.2 1913-1980 by Peter Plowman
Follows vol.1 with a further 80 ships placed into service by 17 Australian and 5 New Zealand companies. A comprehensive fleet listing is included.
Emigrant ships to luxury liners: passenger ships to Australia and New Zealand 1945-1990 by Peter Plowman
Includes all ships that brought passengers to Australia from 1946 to 1990. Ships that carried fewer than 50 passengers are not included unless they were of particular significance.
The ships that passed by Scott Baty
Index to vessels arriving in Sydney, 1837-1925
This index relates to vessels arriving in Sydney only. It records the name and type of vessel, and date of arrival.
Colonial Land & Emigration Board list of ships chartered 1847-1875
Includes name of ship, surgeon, brokers and cost of fare.
See AJCP microfilm reels 6888 & 6889, piece numbers 179-185. Different year ranges appear, and not always sequentially, so you may need to browse through the microfilm to find the section that covers specific years.

Passenger ships worldwide

Great passenger ships of the world by Arnold Kluda
5 volumes covering all passenger ships over 10,000 gross registered tons from 1858 through 1976. Includes all essential technical and historical data as well as ships' photographs.

Passenger ships' pictures

Passenger and emigrant ships to Australia and New Zealand

"A list of ships and where to find pictures of them."
- Part 1: Sail and some sail auxiliaries - up to the 1880s
- Part 2: Steam including auxiliaries - from 1850s to 1914
- Part 3: Picture gallery of steamers in the Australian and New Zealand immigrant trade up to 1914 and other collections

Passenger lists

To identify passengers and crew that travelled on particular ships, use our guide to Victorian immigration and emigration.

For non-Victorian information see the popular Australian online genealogy website CoraWeb, which lists useful links to online immigration resources, including passenger indexes. You can also visit the Library's Family History section to access a range of overseas migration resources.

Ships and shipping

Australian passenger ships

Passenger ships worldwide

Passenger ships' pictures

Passenger lists

State Library Victoria