Melbourne, Victoria Passenger Lists 1899-1954

A View of Melbourne Harbour, Australia.

A View of Melbourne Harbour, Australia. North German Lloyd Bulletin, September 1911. GGA Image ID # 1d30bbec56

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. It is located on the large natural bay of Port Phillip, with its City Centre situated at the northernmost point of the bay – near to the estuary of the Yarra River.

1899-04-28 RMS Orient Passenger List

Steamship Line: Orient Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 28 April 1899
Route: London (Tilbury) to Australian Ports (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Albany) via Plymouth
Commander: Lt. A. T. Pritchard, R.N.R

Passenger List, Aberdeen Line TSS Sophocles - 1925 - Front Cover

1925-08-13 TSS Sophocles Passenger List

Steamship Line: Aberdeen Line
Class of Passengers: First Class
Date of Departure: 13 August 1925
Route: United Kingdom to Australia
Port of Calls: London to Brisbane Tenerife via Capetown, Albany, Melbourne, and Sydney
Commander: Captain A. Ogilvy

Passenger Manifest, Aberdeen Line TSS Demosthenes - 1926 - Front Cover

1926-01-16 TSS Demosthenes Passenger List

Steamship Line: Aberdeen Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 16 January 1926
Route: Australia to the United Kingdom via South Africa and Spain
Port of Calls: Melbourne » Fremantle » Durban » Capetown » Tenerife » Southampton
Commander: Captain F. A. Orriss

1947-12-30 RMS Orion Passenger List

Steamship Line: Orient Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 30 December 1947
Route: London (Tilbury) to Sydney via Aden, Colombo, Port Said, Fremantle, and Melbourne
Commander: Captain C. Fox, C.B.E

1948-02-07 RMS Orion Passenger List

Steamship Line: Orient Line
Class of Passengers: First Saloon
Date of Departure: 7 February 1948
Route: Sydney to Southampton via Melbourne, Fremantle, Colombo, Aden, and Port Said
Commander: Captain C. Fox, C.B.E.

Front Cover, P & O RMS Strathmore First Class Passenger List - 24 August 1954.

1954-08-24 RMS Strathmore Passenger List

Steamship Line: Peninsular & Oriental Line (P&O)
Class of Passengers: First Class
Date of Departure: 24 August 1954
Route: London to Sydney via Port Said, Bombay (Mumbai), Colombo, Fremantle, Adelaide, and Melbourne
Commander: Captain A. G. Jenkins

⚠️ About Accuracy in Historical Records Research Tip

Context. The GG Archives presents passenger lists as faithfully as possible to the original documents. While OCR is generally accurate, portions of these collections—especially image captions and some transcriptions—are typed by hand and may include typographical or spelling variations. The original manifests themselves also contained clerical inconsistencies (names recorded phonetically, mid-voyage corrections, etc.).

What this means for your research:

Search variant spellings of names (e.g., “Schmidt/Schmitt/Smith,” “Giuseppe/Joseph”).
Cross-reference with immigration cards, passport applications, naturalization files, city directories, and newspapers.
Treat manifests as primary sources with historical quirks—use them alongside corroborating records.
For place names, consider historical borders and language variants (e.g., Danzig/Gdańsk, Trieste/Trst).

How to cite. When quoting a name from a manifest, consider adding [sic] for obvious misspellings and include a note such as “spelling as printed in original passenger list.”

Need help? If you spot a likely transcription error in captions, feel free to contact us with the page URL and a brief note—we love community input. 🙏

Curator’s Note

For over 25 years, I've been dedicated to a unique mission: tracking down, curating, preserving, scanning, and transcribing historical materials. These materials, carefully researched, organized, and enriched with context, live on here at the GG Archives. Each passenger list isn't just posted — it's a testament to our commitment to helping you see the people and stories behind the names.

It hasn't always been easy. In the early years, I wasn't sure the site would survive, and I often paid the hosting bills out of my own pocket. But I never built this site for the money — I built it because I love history and believe it's worth preserving. It's a labor of love that I've dedicated myself to, and I'm committed to keeping it going.

If you've found something here that helped your research, sparked a family story, or just made you smile, I'd love to hear about it. Your experiences and stories are the real reward for me. And if you'd like to help keep this labor of love going, there's a "Contribute to the Website" link tucked away on our About page.

📜 History is worth keeping. Thanks for visiting and keeping it alive with me.