Australia, Tasmania Immigration Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
The records in this collection span from 1803 to 1908.

Record Description
This collection contains immigration records and some indexes from Tasmania, Australia.

Record Content
With the exception of paying passengers, immigration records usually contain a great deal of genealogical information.

Many records include:


 * Immigrant’s name
 * Age or date of birth
 * Birth place
 * Trade or occupation
 * Physical description
 * Marital status
 * Number of children

Passenger lists of paying immigrants usually list only names.

Many eighteenth and nineteenth century immigration sources have been published. Indexes to passenger lists have also been published. In addition, many books have been written about immigrants from various countries and religions who settled in Australia. The minorities article has some information about immigrants from other countries.

How to Use the Record
Once you are able to locate your ancestor, the card information will help you determine where he or she came from, the date and place of birth, and the parents’ names. This information will let you prepare a family group record for the family. You can then start searching in the records from the place of birth and residence for other members of the family.

Record History
Between 1788 and 1900 over 1,000,000 people immigrated to Australia. Most of them were from the British Isles, but some were from Europe and Asia.

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 through the financial assistance of the government, organizations, or wealthy individuals.
 * Paying passengers - Came to Australia through their own means.

Why the Record Was Created
The immigration registration was necessary to keep a record of all immigrants settling in the country.

Record Reliability
Information often came directly from the immigrant or a traveling companion, usually a family member. Realize that incorrect information was sometimes given, and mistakes were occasionally made in recording the information.

Related Websites

 * Immigration into Australia: Online Indexes and Passenger Lists
 * National Library of Australia

Related Wiki Articles

 * Australia Emigration and Immigration
 * Tasmania Family History Sources

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection

 * “Delaware Marriage Records,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 4 March 2011), entry for William Anderson and Elizabeth Baynard Henry, married 23 November 1913; citing marriage certificate no. 859; FHL microfilm 2,025,063; Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Dover.
 * “El Salvador Civil Registration,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 21 March 2011), entry for Jose Maria Antonio del Carmen, born 9 April 1880; citing La Libertad, San Juan Opico, Nacimientos 1879-1893, image 50; Ministerio Archivo Civil de la Alcaldia Municipal de San Salvador.

Sources of information for This Collection
The suggested format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections is found in the following article: How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.