South Australian Passenger Lists

Shipping arrivals and immigration 1803-53

Barry Leadbeater

This searchable collection of passenger lists for about 1,240 ship arrivals in South Australia includes those prior to colonisation. The database contains shipping and emigrants from Germany up to 1853, the UK and Ireland up to June 1850, and other ports up to 1847. Additionally, there are a couple of passenger lists from the UK and Germany 1912-13.

Immigrants on voyages with no surviving official or SA newspaper passenger lists are usually included, as are known crew disembarkations. Others arriving overland or by unknown ship have also been added. Sources of the information are given.

If the passenger list you require is not in this database, you may wish to search for other SA shipping & migration resources.

Search South Australian 1803-53 for

surname (required) given name (optional)

Searching the shipping passenger list collection

From the drop-down list, select the type of search you require. Passenger arrivals allows you to search all of the passenger lists for a particular person or family. Passenger lists allows you to search for the full passenger list of a particular ship's voyage. Shipping arrivals gives the arrival date, port & date of departure, captain, tonnage, rig and date built for a particular ship, voyage, or all the ship arrivals for a particular day (yyyy-mm-dd), month (yyyy-mm), year (yyyy) or decade (yyy).

Shipping and passenger list sources

[1]  E A D Opie, South Australian Records prior to 1841, Adelaide, 1917
[2]  Register of Emigrant Labourers Applying for a Free Passage to South Australia 1836-1841, PRO CO 386/149-151
[3]  R Parsons, Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1866, Gould Books, SA, 1999
[4]  South Australian Births Registrations 1842 to 1906, SA Genealogy & Heraldry Soc, 1997
[5]  Cemetery and other memorial inscriptions, [5b] burial registers, including our South Australian Cemeteries database.
[6]  Newspaper passenger lists, obituaries [obit], etc
[7]  Biographical Index of South Australians 1836-1885, SAGHS, 1986
[8]  South Australians 1836-1885, SAGHS, 1990
[9]  R T Sexton, Shipping Arrivals and Departures South Australia 1627-1850, Gould Books, SA, 1990
[10] South Australian Deaths Registrations 1842 to 1915, SAGHS, 2000
[11] H J Finnis, Before the 'Buffalo', Pioneers Association of SA, 1964
[12] Family and local histories, [12i] internet, [12b] family bible, [12d] diary & family papers, [12o] family oral
[13] Miscellaneous Passenger Lists, South Australian Archives, GRG56/68/52 (formerly A1174)
[14] SA Literary Association minutes (correspondence), SA Archives, A31
[15] Schedule of Labourers Wage Advances, SA Archives, GRG48 (formerly A680)
[16] Early German Origins, SA Archives, RN 11
[17] A Lodewyckx, Die Deutschen in Australien, Stuttgart, 1932
[18] Celebration of the Jubilee Year of South Australia (1886) & other composite photographs, Old Colonists Association, 1887
[19] Miscellaneous Passenger Lists, SA Archives, GRG35/202/2 (formerly A608)
[20] South Australian Marriages Registrations 1842 to 1916, SAGHS, 2001
[21] Manifests of Vessels Arriving from Overseas 1838-42, SA Archives, GRG41/8 (formerly A743)
[22] Adelaide Hospital Admission Register, SA Archives, GRG78/49
[23] 1841 South Australia Census Returns, SA Archives, GRG24/13
[24] South Australian Government Gazette (weekly publication)
[25] Australian Dictionary of Biography, Melbourne, 2006
[26] B Leadbeater, South Australia Marriages 1836 to 1852, Adelaide, 2005
[27] Royal South Australian Almanack for 1839, Adelaide
[28] Royal South Australian Almanack for 1840, Adelaide
[29] Return of sick and destitute emigrants receiving relief 1840, SA Archives, GRG24/1
[30] Official passenger lists mainly of immigrants arriving in South Australia under UK assisted passage 1845-86, SA Archives, GRG35/48A (formerly A313)
[31] Official lists of passengers arriving in South Australia from overseas 1888-1940, SA Archives, GRG41/34 (formerly A764)
[32] L J Ewens, The Little Ships of the Pioneer Years 1836-1845, Pioneers Association of SA, 1952
[33] Register of cases of destitution, SA Archives, GRG28/4
[34] Wilhelm Iwan, Because of their beliefs, David Schubert (Ed), Adelaide, 1995
[35] David Schubert, Kavel's People, Lutheran Publishing, Adelaide, 1985
[36] Maureen M Leadbeater, Nauralizations in South Australia 1839 to 1903, Adelaide, 2008-2009
[37] Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, Australia, 2007
[38] Index to Departures 1817-67, Archives Office of Tasmania
[39] Eric Kopittke, Emigrants from Hamburg to Australia 1850-77, Queensland Family History Society, 1991-
[40] Destitute Asylum Admission Register, SA Archives, GRG28

Notes

1. The sources of passenger lists for this early period are extremely inconsistent - the variations which could not be resolved are included (separated by slashes), those in brackets considered less likely. A name in brackets with a question mark is a suggested possibility only, which needs further investigation by the user prior to acceptance or rejection. Please advise us of any errors or omissions, giving the sources of your information.
2. Only a few of the original passenger lists survive, so it has been necessary to use other sources. Even these original lists are only as accurate as the literacy of the recorder and passengers supplying their details allowed. The ships' manifests are even less accurate because they are transcriptions of the original lists onto the cargo manifests. Similarly, the newspaper listings are transcriptions, firstly by the reporter, finally by the compositor. The applications for a free passage suffer from the same problems as the original passenger lists. Then there is the difficulty of reading the old handwriting, which sometimes introduces further errors. Sources [1], [6] and [7] are quite unreliable, but have not been excluded because at times they are the only sources of the information. In addition, [7] and [8] often provide given names and maiden names not found elsewhere. For more information, see the article on the accuracy of family history sources.
3. Where feasible, all accompanying offspring including adults are given in each family, unless married. These are listed separately with their own families.
4. If the ship or passenger list you require is not in this database you may wish to search the SA shipping and immigration directory for another source.

Acknowledgments

Grateful thanks to those who entered and checked the early local shipping data. Thank you to the generous volunteer who has provided numerous additions and amendments over the years from various sources, especially arrival information from obituaries & biographies, and Tasmanian departures for SA. And thanks to all other contributors of new and revised data.

Ships arriving with passengers at Port Adelaide or elsewhere in SA

Click on any highlighted ship below to display its passenger list. Note that many of these ships returned to South Australia multiple times with passengers. Also note that in several cases there was more than one ship with the same name.
  1. Abberton; Abeona; Abercrombie; Aboukir; Adelaide; Africaine 1836, 1837, 1838; Agenoria; Agincourt; Agnes & Elizabeth; Alcmena; Alexandrina; Alfred; Alice Brooks; HMS Alligator; Alma; Alpha; Amelia; Amity Hall; Angelina; Anna; Anna Maria; Anna Robertson; Ann Smith; Antares; Antilla; Apolline; Appleton; Arab; Arabian; Ariadne; Ariel; Ascendant; Asia; Asiatic; Athenian; Augusta; Auguste & Meline; Augustus; Australia;
  2. Baboo; Bandicoot; Bardaster; HMS Beagle; Benares; Bencoolen; Bengalee 1838; Benjamin Elkin; Berenice; Bintang (Bing Tang Ting); Birman; Black Joke; Blanche; Bleng; Bolivar; Bolton; Bountiful; Branken Moor; Brazil Packet; Brechin Castle; Bride; Brightman; Britannia; British Sovereign; Britomart; Broadaxe; Brothers; Buckinghamshire; HMS Buffalo 1836; Bussorah Merchant;
  3. Cacique; Calcutta; Caleb Angas; Caledonia; Calphurnia; Camoena; Candahar; Canton 1838, 1846; Cape Horn; Captain Cook; Caroline; Catharina; Catherine Jamieson 1838; Cecilia; Ceres; Challenger; Champion; Charles; Charles Kerr; Charlotte; Cheapside; Cheerful; Childe Harold; China; Christiana; Christina; City of Adelaide; City of London; City of Sydney; Cleveland; Clydeside; Comet; Commodore; Competitor; Condor; Constance; Coquette; Coromandel 1837, 1849, 1850; Corsair; Countess of Durham; Countess of Yarborough; Courier; Cressy; Cromwell; Culdee; Cygnet 1836;
  4. D'Auvergne; Daniel Wheeler; Daphne; Dart; Dauntless; David; David Malcolm; Davidsons; David Witton 1838; Dawsons; Deborah; Defiance; Delhi; Derwent; Devon; Diadem; Dockenhuden; Domain; Dorothy; Dorset; Duchess of Clarence; Duchess of Northumberland; Duke of Bedford; Duke of Bronte; Duke of Richmond; Duke of Roxburghe 1838; Duke of Sussex; Duke of Wellington; Duke of York 1836; Dumfries; Duncan; Dusty Miller;
  5. Eagle; Eamont; Eden 1838; Edina; Elgin; Eliza; Elizabeth; Elizabeth Buckham; Elizabeth Jane; Elizabeth Lloyd; Elizabeth Thompson; Eliza Frances; Elphinstone; Emerald Isle; Emily; Emma 1836; Emma Eugenia; Emma Sherratt; Emmy; Empress; Emu; Enmore; Enterprise; Essex; Ettrick; Eudora; Exporter;
  6. Fairfield; Fairlie; Falco; Fama; Fanny; Fatima; Flibberty; Florentia; Forfarshire; Fortfield; Fortitude; Foster Fyans; Fox; Frances; Francis Spaight; Freak; Frederick Huth;
  7. Ganges; Garland Grove; Gazelle; Gellert; Gem; George Washington; Georgiana; Ghika; G H Wappus; Gipsy; Glenalvon 1838; Glenarm; Glen Huntley; Glenswilly; Godeffroy; Goshawk 1838; Governor Gawler; Grasbrook (Graasbroek); Gratitude; Grecian; Guiana; Guillarden; Gunga;
  8. Haidee; Halcyon; Hamilton; Harpley; Harry Lorrequer; Hartley 1837; Harvest Home; Hawk; Heerjeebhoy Rustomjee Patel; Helena; Helen Thompson; Heloise; Henry; Henry Freeling; Henry Fulcher; Henry Hoyle; Henry Porcher 1838; Herder; Hermann (Herrmann); Hermann von Beckerath; Hero; Hetty; Himalaya; Hind; Hindoo; Hooghly; Hope; Hydaspes;
  9. Imaum of Muscat; Inconstant; Indarra; India; Indian; Indus; Industry; Iona; Isabella 1837; Isabella Hercus; Isabella Watson; Ituna;
  10. James Holmes; James Turcan; Jane; Jane & Emma; Jane Frances; Jane Geary; Java; Jean Henri; Jenny Jones; Jenny Lind; Johannah Catharina (Jeanna Catherina); John; John Bartlett; John Cooper; John Dunscombe; John Heyes; John Mitchell; John Munn; John Panter; John Pirie 1836; John Renwick 1837; John Woodhall; Joseph Albino; Joseph Cripps; Julia; Julia Percy; Julindur; Juno; Justina/Justitia; Justine;
  11. Kallibokka; Kate; Katherine Stewart Forbes 1837; King Henry; Kingston;
  12. L'Heroine; La Belle Alliance; Lady Bruce; Lady Bute; Lady Clarke; Lady Emma 1837; Lady Fitzherbert; Lady Leigh; Lady Lilford; Lady Mary Pelham 1836; Lady MacNaghten (Lady McNaughton); Lady of the Lake; Lady Wellington; Lalla Rookh; Lapwing; Leontine; Lightning; Lively; Livonia; Lloyds 1838; London; Lord Ashburton; Lord Glenelg; Lord Goderich 1838; Lord Hobart; Lord Sidmouth; Lord Stanley; Louisa; Louisa Baillie; Louise; Lowestoft; Lulworth (Lullworth); Lydford; Lynher; Lysander;
  13. Madawaska; Macedon; Madras; Malcolm; Margaret; Marine Plant; Maria; Mariner; Marion; Martha; Martin Luther; Mary; Mary Ann; Mary Clarke; Mary Dugdale; Mary Mallaby; Mary Ridgway; Mary White; Marys; Mazeppa; Medway; Melrose; Mercury; Mercy; Merope; Midge; Midlothian; Minerva; Mississippi; Moffatt; Morley; Munford;
  14. Naiad; Navarino 1837; Nelson; Nereus; Nestor; New Holland;
  15. Oak; Ocean (Wolga); Ocean Queen; Onyx; Opossum; Orator; Orbona; Orissa; Orleana;
  16. Pakenham; Palmyra; Parkfield; Parland; Parsee; Pauline; Paul Jones; Pedlar; Peri; Pero; Perseverance; Pestonjee Bomanjee 1838; Peter Proctor; Phantom; Phoebe; Piscator; Planter; Platina; Poictiers; Porter; Posthumous; Premier; President Smidt; Pribislaw (Pribislav); Prince Albert; Prince George (1) 1838-11, (2) 1838-12; Prince of Denmark; Prince Regent; Princess Louise; Princess Royal; Providence; Psyche; Punch;
  17. Queenstown;
  18. Rachel; Rajah; Rajasthan 1838, 1840; Rambler; Ramillies; Rapid 1836, 1838; Raven; Rebecca Jane; Recovery; Red Rover; Regia; Resolution; Resource; Richard & William; Richardsons; River Chief; Robert Henderson; Roman Emperor; Roon (diary of mid 1912 voyage); Rosanna (Rose Anna); Rosetta; Royal Admiral 1838, 1840; Royal Archer; Royal George; Royal Mail; Royal Sovereign; Royal William;
  19. St Helena; Sally Ann; Samuel Baker; Samuel Boddington; San Francisco; Sans Pareille; Sanspareil; Santipore; Sarah; Sarah & Elizabeth 1837; Sarah Bell; Sarepta; Schah 1837; Scotia; Scout; Sea Queen; Senator; Seppings; Shamrock; Siam; Sibella; Simlah (Simlar); Singapore; Sir Charles Forbes; Sir Charles McCarthy; Sir Edward Parry; Sir John Byng; Siren; Sister; Sisters; Skerne; Skjold (Skiold); Socrates; Solway 1837; Somersetshire; Sophia; Sophie; South Australian 1837; Souvenir; Sovereign; Spartan; Spray; Stag; Statesman; Stebonheath; Steinwaerder (Steinwarder); Stratheden; Strathisla; Success; Sultana; Superb; Surry (Surrey) 1838; Susannah; Susanne; Swan; Symmetry;
  20. Taglioni; Tamar; Tam O'Shanter 1836; Teazer (Teaser); Telegraph; Templar; Tenasserim; Terror; Theresa; Thirteen; Thistle; Thomas Chodwick (Chadwick); Thomas Fielden; Thomas Harrison; Thomas Lowry; Thomson; Tigress; Timbo; Titania; Tomatin; Trafalgar; Troubadour; Truelove; Truganini; Trusty 1838; Tyrone;
  21. Undaunted; Union;
  22. Vanguard; Velocity; Venus; HMS Victor; Victoria; Ville de Bordeaux; Vixen; Vulcan;
  23. Wanderer; Warlock; Warratah (Waratah); Warrior; Waterwitch (Water Witch); Waterloo; Wave; Welcome; Westminster; Wilhelmina Maria; William; William Barrass; William Fulcher; William Hutt 1837; William Hyde; William Mitchell; William Money; William Nichol; William Parker; William Watson; William Wilson; William Wise; Will Watch; Winchester 1838; Woden; Woodbridge; Wuzeer;
  24. [none]
  25. Yare;
  26. Zealous; Zebra 1838.