Victorian Genealogy
Finding People and Places in Victoria, Australia.
Also see Shipping Records.
Also see Passenger Arrival Records and Passenger Departure Records.
Also see Marine Death Records.
For navy records see Military Service Records.
Ships' arrivals were detailed in newspapers under “Shipping News”. They usually listed the people in positions of authority on the ship such as the captain, surgeon or ship's doctor, and superintendent. See Newspapers, Magazines and Journals.
Also see Ships' Crew.
STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA - LLOYD'S OF LONDON CAPTAINS REGISTER
This is not online.
GUILDHALL LIBRARY MANUSCRIPTS SECTION - PARTIAL INDEXES TO LLOYD'S OF LONDON CAPTAINS REGISTERS 1869-1911 (INTERNET ARCHIVE WAYBACK MACHINE)
This version dated 8 March 2020 is sourced from the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
ANCESTRY - UK AND IRELAND, MASTERS AND MATES CERTIFICATES, 1850-1927
This database contains master and mate certificates issued to merchant seamen by the British Board of Trade.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/2271/
CREW LIST INDEX PROJECT
The site provides information about the records of British merchant seafarers of the late 19th and early 20th century as well as ships, and access to the CLIP maritime database.
SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIAN GENEALOGISTS MIDAS - MARINERS CARD INDEX 1834, 1838, 1848 AND 1852
These are sourced from Lloyds Register of Shipping.
AUSTRALIAN JOINT COPYING PROJECT - REGISTERS OF CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCY: MASTERS AND MATES: COLONIAL TRADE 1870-1921 (BT 128)
These include
The entries give name, date and place of certification as Master, 1st Mate or 2nd Mate, year of birth, and place of birth.
See under British Government.
ANCESTRY - NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, REGISTERS OF SEAMEN, 1859-1936
This collection contains registers of seamen engaged or discharged in New South Wales, Australia. It also includes registers of certificates of competency issued between 1905 and 1933. These certificates were issued to masters, engineers, first mates, pilots, and others.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/nswregseamen/
Surgeons were compulsory on British emigrant ships from the 1840s.
Ships' arrivals were detailed in newspapers under “Shipping News”. They usually listed the people in positions of authority on the ship such as the captain, surgeon or ship's doctor, and superintendent. See Newspapers, Magazines and Journals.
See Doctors and Surgeons.
Ships' crew included sailors as well as the positions concerned with maintaining the infrastructure of the ship such as carpenter, caulker, sailmaker, ropemaker and cooper.
If sailors deserted their ships they committed a crime and their details may be found in Police Gazettes. See Police Gazettes.
Crew lists and agreements were required for British-registered merchant ships with the Merchant Shipping Act 1835. Crew lists were a requirement twice a year for ships involved in “home trade” ie vessels operating in British waters. Agreements were created for foreign-going vessels for each voyage. Log books were not required until 1850 and became more common in the 20th century.
FINDMYPAST - BRITAIN, MERCHANT SEAMEN, 1835-1857
From 1835, the British government began to monitor a potential reserve of sailors for the Royal Navy, which resulted in the creation of thousands of records that identify individual seamen. The main series of records feature the ships' agreements and crew lists, from which registers of service were created. These are volumes from the National Archives' record series BT112, BT113, BT114, BT115, BT116 and BT120.
https://search.findmypast.com.au/search-world-Records/britain-merchant-seamen-1835-1857
MYHERITAGE - UNITED KINGDOM, MERCHANT NAVY SEAMEN
This collection contains records of crew members of the United Kingdom Merchant Navy. Records typically include the name of the seaman, date and place of birth, and the service number.
The Merchant Navy has existed since the 17th century, when an attempt was made to register all seamen that could be used for the Royal Navy. It was not fully implemented until 1835, and the Merchant Navy continued to grow, trading with British possessions all around the world. The records are sourced from The National Archives (England). The records are searchable.
UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA MARITIME HISTORY ARCHIVE - CREW LISTS AND LOGBOOKS INDEX 1857-1942
The Maritime History Archive holds approximately 75 percent of the surviving crew lists (also called crew agreements) and official log books of British registered vessels for the periods 1857-1942 (predominantly 1863-1938) and 1951-1976. The crew lists and logbooks for voyages terminating in the years 1857-1942 are indexed and can be searched here. The crew lists for the years 1951-1976 have not been indexed.
https://mha.mun.ca/mha/holdings/searchcombinedcrews.php
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM, GREENWICH - CREW LISTS AND LOGBOOKS 1861-1995
The National Maritime Museum holds crew lists for the years 1861, 1862, 1865 and every year ending in '5' thereafter up to 1995.
Note: Crew Lists for 1945 are held at the National Archives. The crew lists are not online except for 1915. Crew Lists of the British Merchant Navy 1915:
https://1915crewlists.rmg.co.uk/
FINDMYPAST - ENGLAND AND WALES MERCHANT NAVY CREW LISTS 1861-1913
The crew lists and agreements in this collection come from a number of depositories including the National Archives, National Maritime Museum and various local archives and county record offices. These records include agreements from both home trade and foreign trade ships.
FINDMYPAST - SCOTLAND, OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS
This includes the Scottish Seafarers Index.
https://search.findmypast.com.au/search-world-records/scotland-occupations-and-professions
UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA MARITIME HISTORY ARCHIVE - 1881 CREW LISTS DATABASE
This database contains the names of more than 376,500 seamen taken from the first 300 of the 358 boxes of crew agreements from the voyages of British registered vessels that ended in 1881. The highest official number entered to date is 76999. The year 1881 was chosen to coincide with the census taken in Britain in the same year. The database is a work in progress with several thousand names being transcribed monthly.
https://mha.mun.ca/mha/1881/crews1881.php
FINDMYPAST - AUSTRALIA, INWARD, OUTWARD AND COASTAL PASSENGER LISTS 1826-1972
These include the following:
CREW LIST INDEX PROJECT
The site provides information about the records of British merchant seafarers of the late 19th and early 20th century as well as ships, and access to the CLIP maritime database.
FINDMYPAST - BRITAIN, MERCHANT SEAMEN, 1918-1941
These records include index cards that the Registrar General of Shipping and Seaman used between the two world wars to produce a centralised index to merchant seamen serving on British merchant navy vessels. The Board of Trade issued these cards and they fall into three types: CR1, CR2 and CR10. There are two or more cards for some individuals. These are volumes from the National Archives' record series BT 348, BT 349, BT 350 and BT 364. The originals are held by the Southampton Archives.
https://search.findmypast.com.au/search-world-records/britain-merchant-seamen-1918-1941
ANCESTRY - ALL LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND, CREW LISTS 1861-1919
This collection of crew lists held by the Liverpool Record Office includes records for 912 ships whose home port was registered as Liverpool, England. The lists contain information on ship voyages, crew members, and apprentices. Many of the records are grouped together as agreement booklets or ships' logs.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/2364/
ANCESTRY - GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, CREW LISTS, 1863-1901
This database contains crew lists, agreements, certificates of discharge, and some related documents for 11 ships that landed at Glasgow's ports.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/2895/
ANCESTRY - DORSET, ENGLAND, CREW LISTS, 1863-1914
This database contains various crew lists for ships associated with Dorset ports. Log books are included.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/2211/
ANCESTRY - ABERYSTWYTH, WALES, INDEXES TO CREW LISTS, 1850-1914
This collection contains information derived from civilian crew lists filed at the port of Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire, Wales, between 1856 and 1914. The crew lists contain personal information about sailors and their records on the ships they manned.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/70910/
ANCESTRY - UK, APPRENTICES INDENTURED IN MERCHANT NAVY, 1824-1910
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/60609/
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF IRELAND - RECORDS OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL OF SHIPPING AND SEAMEN 1863-1921
The records of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen consist of crew lists and agreements with seamen regarding wage rates, conditions of service and related information of ships, registered in what is now the Republic of Ireland between 1863 and 1921.
http://census.nationalarchives.ie/search/cl/home.jsp
ANCESTRY - IRELAND, CREW LISTS AND SHIPPING AGREEMENTS 1863-1920
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/62047/
FINDMYPAST - IRELAND MERCHANT NAVY CREW LISTS 1863-1921
https://search.findmypast.com.au/search-world-Records/ireland-merchant-navy-crew-lists-1863-1921
ANCESTRY - BREMEN, GERMANY SAILORS REGISTRY (BREMER SEELEUTEREGISTER), 1824-1917
This database is a collection of service records of over 50,000 sailors who enlisted with crews in Bremen, Germany. The records are searchable and may be browsed.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/1065/
ANCESTRY - BREMEN, GERMANY SHIPS CREW LISTS (BREMER MUSTERUNGSLISTEN DER SCHIFFE), 1815-1917
This database is a collection of thousands of ship crew lists from Bremen, Germany. These lists cover crews on cargo ships, shipping, fishing, and whaling vessels, passenger ships, and small river crafts. The records are searchable and may be browsed.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/1067/
ANCESTRY - BREMEN, GERMAN DEATHS OF SAILORS AND SHIP PASSENGERS (SEEMANSAMT BREMEN, STERBEREGISTER), 1834-1875
This database contains records of sailors and passengers who died aboard ships sailing from Bremen, Germany between 1834 and 1875. Sailors may have also died at ports of call. Ships included passenger, shipping, fishing and other vessels. The records are searchable and may be browsed.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/1273/
ANCESTRY - BREMEN, GERMAN DESERTIONS OF SAILORS (SEEMANSAMT BREMEN, DESERTEURLISTEN), 1855-1874
This database contains records of sailors who deserted ships sailing from Bremen Germany between 1855 and 1874. The records are searchable and may be browsed.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/1271/
MYHERITAGE - SWEDEN, SAILORS AND SEAMEN'S HOUSE ENROLLMENTS 1752-1941
This collection contains records of individuals who served in Swedish sailor houses, between the years 1752 and 1941. Swedish sailor houses mentioned in this collection are Härnösand, Gamlakarleby, Västervik, Hudiksvall, Söderhamn, Gävle, Karlskrona, Oskarshamn, Visby and Örnsköldsvik. The records are searchable.
https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-20339/sweden-sailors-seamen%E2%80%99s-house-enrollments?s=833891551/?utm_source=partner_Victoriangenealogy&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=Victoriangenealogy_sep23_textlink&tr_ad_group=textlinks&tr_funnel=supersearch
ANCESTRY - SWEDISH EMIGRATION RECORDS 1783-1951
These records include Swedish passengers travelling through European ports 1859-1951, letters to and from Larsson Brothers and Co, emigrant agents, passport holders 1783-1860, and sailors who were listed in the sailor houses in Göteborg, Lysekil, Marstrand Strömstad, and Uddevalla and who are recorded as discharges, escapees or dead outside of Europe, 1812-1930. They are searchable.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/1189/
MYHERITAGE - NORWAY, 1875 SAILORS AND SEAMEN CENSUS
The 1875 Norway census was created to include people native to the country and other residents. Sailors and seamen on Norwegian ships and ports were counted and they are in this sub-collection of the 1875 census. This collection is provided through cooperation with the National Archives of Norway. It is searchable.
https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-20236/norway-1875-sailors-seamen-census?s=833891551/?utm_source=partner_Victoriangenealogy&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=Victoriangenealogy_sep23_textlink&tr_ad_group=textlinks&tr_funnel=supersearch
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA - SEAMEN RECORDS 1852-1922
Public Record Office Victoria holds records relating to merchant ships' crews. These cover a variety of locations and crew activities, including discharge, desertion, payment and release.
They hold the following seamen records:
This is a finding aid for ships' crew records. They are not online.
https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/explore-topic/transport/ships-crew-1852-1922
ANCESTRY - VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, DESERTER, DISCHARGED AND PRISONER CREW LISTS 1852-1925
These records are provided in association with the Public Record Office of Victoria. They contain lists of crew members who deserted or otherwise left employment on a particular ship. They have been digitized and are searchable by name (The prisoner crew lists were prisoners held on hulks) (VPRS 2144, VPRS 4320). The records are searchable and may be browsed.
https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=60709
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF VICTORIA GENEALOGICAL INDEX OF NAMES - SHIPS' DESERTERS DEC 1853 - DEC 1861,1862-1867 BY GSV GEELONG GROUP
https://www.gsv.org.au/article/our-collection
AUSTRALIAN JOINT COPYING PROJECT - REGISTERS OF CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCY: ENGINEERS: COLONIAL TRADE 1877-1921 (BT 140)
These include
The entries give name, date and place of certification as 1st or 2nd class engineer, place of birth and year of birth.
See under British Government.
FAMILYSEARCH - NEW SOUTH WALES REGISTERS OF SEAMEN, 1880-1971
These are under Australia, New South Wales, Occupations in the Catalog.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/
ANCESTRY - NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, REGISTERS OF SEAMEN, 1859-1936
This collection contains registers of seamen engaged or discharged in New South Wales, Australia. It also includes registers of certificates of competency issued between 1905 and 1933. These certificates were issued to masters, engineers, first mates, pilots, and others.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/nswregseamen/
FINDMYPAST - QUEENSLAND, SEAMEN, 1882-1919
The names included in this index were taken from the registers kept by the Harbours and Rivers Department.
https://search.findmypast.com.au/search-world-Records/queensland-seamen-1882-1919
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA - IMMIGRATION-REGISTER OF ASIAN DESERTERS 1913-1918 (A2455)
Immigration - Register of Asian deserters for whose apprehension and conviction a reward has been offered. This has been digitized.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA - AUSTRALIAN MERCHANT SEAMEN EMPLOYMENT RECORDS 1922-1990 (A8877)
The National Archives holds microfilmed employment records for Australian seamen who served on Australian merchant vessels. The records are arranged by family name and give some personal information, the name of ships and dates of service.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA - AUSTRALIAN MERCHANT SEAMEN EMPLOYMENT RECORDS, MELBOURNE 1922-1926 (MP978/2)
The National Archives holds microfilmed employment records for Australian seamen who served on Australian merchant vessels from Melbourne. The records are arranged by family name and give some personal information, the name of ships and dates of service.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA - AUSTRALIAN MERCHANT SEAMEN EMPLOYMENT RECORDS, MELBOURNE 1927-1966 (MP978/1)
The National Archives holds microfilmed employment records for Australian seamen who served on Australian merchant vessels from Melbourne. The records are arranged by family name and give some personal information, the name of ships and dates of service.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA - AUSTRALIAN MERCHANT SEAMEN EMPLOYMENT RECORDS, MELBOURNE 1926-1967 (MP978/3)
The National Archives holds microfilmed employment records for Australian seamen who served on Australian merchant vessels from Melbourne; these were "native" seamen. The records are arranged by family name and may give some personal information, the name of ships and dates of service.
AUSTRALIAN MARITIME SAFETY AUTHORITY
This authority holds merchant navy service information. The information does not appear to be online.
GEELONG AND DISTRICT WEBSITE - GEELONG: REGISTER OF SEAMEN ENGAGED 1856 (VPRS 22)
This has been indexed into the Geelong and District Database.
http://zades.com.au/gandd/index.php/databases/potpourri/ppindexes
The following records include ships' crew.
MUSEUMS OF HISTORY, NEW SOUTH WALES STATE ARCHIVES COLLECTION - CREW AND PASSENGERS INDEX 1828-1841 (NRS 905)
This index was developed from Joan Reese's NSW Colonial Secretary's In Letters Index 1826-1895. It is not a complete list of crew.
https://mhnsw.au/indexes/immigration-and-shipping/crew-and-passengers-index-1828-1841/
ANCESTRY - NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, IMMIGRATION RECORDS, 1840-1902
This collection contains a variety of immigration records from New South Wales, Australia. Types of records available include:
These are searchable and may be browsed.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/62356/
MUSEUMS OF HISTORY, NEW SOUTH WALES STATE ARCHIVES COLLECTION - UNASSISTED IMMIGRANTS INDEX 1842-1855
Unassisted (or free) passengers who came to Australia at their own expense, including ships' crew and military.
https://mhnsw.au/indexes/immigration-and-shipping/unassisted-immigrants-index/
MARINERS AND SHIPS IN AUSTRALIAN WATERS
This website has indexed and digitized the Shipping Master's Office inwards passenger and crew lists from the State Records Authority of New South Wales. They appear to date from the 1800s.
https://marinersandships.com.au/
ANCESTRY - NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, DEPARTING CREW AND PASSENGER LISTS, 1816-1825, 1898-1911
These records are provided in association with State Records Authority of NSW. This data collection contains muster rolls, ship's company, and passenger lists for vessels departing from New South Wales (also from Sydney) between December 1816 and 1825 as well as 1898 to 1911. The records may be browsed and they are searchable.
https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=1602
ANCESTRY - NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, UNASSISTED IMMIGRANT PASSENGER LISTS, 1826-1922
These records are provided in association with State Records Authority of NSW. These records are passenger arrivals in New South Wales from 1826 to 1922; they include interstate arrivals. The records include information about seamen.
https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=1210
ANCESTRY - TASMANIA, PASSENGER AND CREW LISTS, 1834-1837, 1841-1887
These records are from the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office. The records may be browsed and they are searchable.
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/tasmaniapassenger/
ANCESTRY - WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA, CREW AND PASSENGER LISTS, 1852-1930
These records are from the State Records Office of Western Australia. This is a collection of passenger records of arriving immigrants and emigrants to Western Australian port cities from 1852 to 1930. The majority of records involve arrivals from the Eastern States, but immigrants from overseas are also included.
https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=1684
Sea pilots were used for the expert pilotage of ships from Bass Strait to the ports of Melbourne and Geelong. They were licensed from 1839. The government took over the service in 1853.
For the government vessels used by sea pilots see Ships.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA - SEA PILOT RECORDS
Public Record Office Victoria holds the following sea pilot records:
These are not online.
ARCHIVAL ACCESS VICTORIA - INDEX TO EMPLOYEE REGISTER (PORTS AND HARBOURS) (VPRS 10979 UNIT 1) 1892-1921
This is an index to the Employee Register for the Ports and Harbours Branch. The page number can be used to access the full staff record at Public Record Office Victoria. This includes sea pilots.
https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/350d2b4e-4d47-4973-9694-90661db2e75b
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA - CORRESPONDENCE BOOK OF ASSISTANT TO INSPECTOR OF FISHERIES, PORT FAIRY 1913-1949 (VPRS 3366)
These include Fishing Licences and Boat Registrations.
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/VPRS3366
ANCESTRY - VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, SELECTED TRIAL BRIEF AND CORRESPONDENCE REGISTERS AND OTHER IMAGES, 1837-1993
These include Port Fairy Fisheries Correspondence 1913-1949 (VPRS 3366). These records are not indexed but can be browsed by description and range. These are provided by Public Record Office Victoria.
https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=60672
Also see Public Servants.
Also see Ports and Harbours.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA - PORTS AND SHIPS-EMPLOYMENT RECORDS
This is a finding aid for Ports and Ships - Employment Records. The records are not online.
ARCHIVAL ACCESS VICTORIA - INDEX TO EMPLOYEE REGISTER (PORTS AND HARBOURS) (VPRS 10979 UNIT 1) 1892-1921
This is an index to the Employee Register for the Ports and Harbours Branch. The page number can be used to access the full staff record at Public Record Office Victoria.
https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/350d2b4e-4d47-4973-9694-90661db2e75b
The Colony of Victoria joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 becoming the State of Victoria. The Federal Government took control of the customs administration of Victoria. Customs records may be found at the National Archives of Australia.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA - LISTS OF SHIPS CLEARED AND GOODS EXPORTED, AND ACCOUNTS OF OFFICERS AND COMPARATIVE TABLES, VICTORIA 1836-1844 (B4793)
These have been digitized.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA - OFFICERS' REGISTERS OF APPOINTMENTS AND SALARIES, VICTORIA 1883-1926 (B3853)
These have been digitized.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA - STEVEDORING INDUSTRY
The following is Fact Sheet 141 from the National Archives of Australia.
https://www.naa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/fs-141-stevedoring-industry.pdf
GEELONG AND DISTRICT WEBSITE - GEELONG DISTRICT: WATERSIDE WORKERS LIFE MEMBERS
These have been indexed into the Geelong and District Database.
http://zades.com.au/gandd/index.php/databases/potpourri/ppindexes
Also see Lighthouses.
ARCHIVAL ACCESS VICTORIA - INDEX TO EMPLOYEE REGISTER (PORTS AND HARBOURS) (VPRS 10979 UNIT 1) 1892-1921
This is an index to the Employee Register for the Ports and Harbours Branch. The page number can be used to access the full staff record at Public Record Office Victoria. This includes lighthouse keepers.
https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/350d2b4e-4d47-4973-9694-90661db2e75b
TROVE NEWSPAPERS - MARITIME WORKER
This newspaper was published in Melbourne and is online from 1938 to 1954.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/?q=
STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA - FINDING YOUR ANCESTORS' OCCUPATIONS: MARINERS
This lists resources held by the state library relating to mariners.
https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/c.php?g=435343&p=6902421
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM, GREENWICH, ENGLAND
The world's largest collection of manuscripts and original documents relating to maritime history.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM, SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES
It is Australia's centre for maritime collections, exhibitions, research and archaeology.
MARITIME MUSEUMS OF VICTORIA
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