Australia, Victoria, Assisted Immigrant Arrivals at Victorian Ports, 1839-1871

What is in This Collection?

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.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

• Person's name
• Date of Arrival
• Name of the Ship

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1860 Passenger Lists

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  1852 Passenger Lists