While the British Isles and Australia have a
great deal in common, particularly in respect of
their histories, there are significant
differences when it comes to the methodology and
sources used in genealogical research in each
country. It is hardly surprising given that
Australia was and still is to some extent today,
a nation largely made up of immigrants, that
Australian research focuses on immigration and
the immigration records available. The various
forms of immigration, the records available and
the information they contain can provide
priceless information for any family historian.
For Australian researchers the value is obvious -
immigration is the link back overseas to continue
research. For an English family historian the
records can be just as valuable in providing
details of a long lost branch of the family. As
will be seen the records may also assist the
research process on those ancestors who stayed
behind.
In order successfully to trace immigration
from England to Australia, there are a number of
factors to consider before delving into the
records. The first of these is that there were
several types of 'immigrants' to Australian
shores - unassisted arrivals, assisted
immigrants, convicts, captains and crews of
vessels and personnel serving with the British
military regiments stationed in the colonies
throughout the nineteenth century. For some of
these categories of arrival, the records can be
extremely useful, and for others very
disappointing. Not all of the colonies received
all of these categories of immigrants. South
Australia, for example, did not receive convicts
transported directly from the British Isles. The
second factor to consider is that until the 1920s,
immigration was the responsibility of each colony
(later state) of Australia. From that time on,
immigration became the responsibility of the
Commonwealth Government. Effectively, this means
that prior to the 1920s, each colony or state
maintained its own records of immigrants arriving
within its borders. Today the government archives
in each State maintain these records. In order to
trace an immigrant successfully, it is therefore
necessary to know the immigrant's intended port
of destination when they departed from England.
The alternative is, through a process of
elimination, to conduct research into the records
of each state. The records will vary from state
to state in terms of the information they
contain, the indexing work that may have been
done on them and finally what has survived.
The focus of this article rests on the two
main methods of free immigration - unassisted and
assisted arrivals, and the records for each that
can be found in New South Wales are used as
examples of the type of information which may be
obtained.
Unassisted Arrivals
This category of arrival refers to those
people who paid the cost of their own voyage.
Because there was no need for the government of
the day to have any involvement to any great
extent in this method of immigration, the
information which was recorded about such people
is limited. Furthermore, in New South Wales, for
the period from the 1790s to 1826, few passenger
lists of ships carrying unassisted arrivals
survive. From 1826 to the 1920s and beyond, the
lists do survive. The problems in their use is
that the lists are arranged chronologically by
date of arrival and beyond 1855 there are
currently no name indexes to the lists.
A
Punch cartoon
The difficulties in the use of passenger lists
for unassisted passengers is further complicated
by the fact that the only identifying information
recorded about unassisted passengers is generally
their name. This can make the research process
tedious and inadequate especially when
researching a common name which may appear
several times on one list let alone in several
lists over a period of time which may need to be
searched. During some periods of time not all
passengers are individually identified. This is
especially the case in the early 1850s, during
the goldrush period when hordes of passengers
arrived in Victoria and New South Wales in search
of their fortunes.
Assisted Arrivals
The research process is much easier and more
rewarding for assisted immigrants. A number of
assisted immigration schemes were operated from
1828 in New South Wales. The majority of these
were founded and monitored by the New South Wales
government. These were designed at various times
to, for example, redress the imbalance of the
sexes within the colony or the lack of skilled
labour.
As a result, the government recorded a large
amount of detail about the individuals who were
'helped' out to the colonies in this way. Take,
for example, the Jones family who arrived in New
South Wales on the Sirocco in October 1864. From
the Board's Immigrant List we learn that James
Jones was 46, a bricklayer whose native place is
stated as Benford (presumably Binfield),
Berkshire, England. His parents are named as John
and Mary Jones who were both deceased, religion
is stated as Church of England and James could
both read and write. It is also stated that his
brother-in-law, Thomas Bolton was in the colony
living at Dapto near Wollongong, south of Sydney.
James' wife, Mary, aged 48 was also a native of
'Benford' and her parents were both deceased. The
couple also immigrated with a daughter, Emily, a
16-year-old milliner.1
A further example would be that of Ruth
Skinner, a 27-year-old cook who arrived on the
Morning Star in the same year. She is described
as being a native of Shrivenham, Berkshire and a
daughter of William and Elizabeth Skinner both
living at Asbury, Shrivenham.2
Clearly, from the research point of view, such
assisted immigrant records provide sufficient
information to be able to continue research
overseas. Based on the Ruth Skinner example
above, research could then continue with parish
registers to find her baptism and a search of the
1861 Census for Shrivenham may well pinpoint at
least Ruth's parents. From an English research
point of view, the same can be said: this record
may help to eliminate details such as the deaths
of Ruth's parents by at least providing the
information that they were alive at the time of
her departure in May of 1864.
The research process for assisted immigrants
is also quite straightforward as all the records
have been name indexed and, in the case of New
South Wales at least, the majority of these
indexes are now available on-line via State
Records' website located at www.records.nsw.gov.au.
In New South Wales, assisted immigrant records
may also be supplemented by a series of records
known as the Immigration Deposit Journals. These
are a record of the monies paid towards the cost
of an immigrant's fare and can, once again,
provide some very interesting clues.
These records show, for example, that Thomas
Boulton (note the spelling) paid monies towards
the cost of the voyage of the Jones family above.
The Journals show a distinct discrepancy in the
ages of James and Mary Jones which are stated as
38 and 48 respectively. The family is also
described, on this occasion, as being of
Vinfield, Berkshire while a Mr J. Lawrence of the
same place is listed as 'some person of note to
whom reference can be made respecting the
emigrants'. This record also helps to add further
family members to the picture by stating that
Thomas Boulton had also sponsored a William
Bolton who also travelled on the Sirocco.3
For Ruth Skinner, her sponsor was John Strath
(possibly a prospective employer). In the
Immigration Deposit Journals, Ruth is described
as living in London.4 This provides another
interesting clue in the event of not being able
to find her in her home parish using census
records.
As with all other records, it is important to
exercise some caution in using records of
assisted immigrants. At various times there were
strict limitations imposed on, for example, the
age, trade or education of immigrants who were
assisted to the colony. It therefore may well
have been in our ancestors' interests to over-or
understate their ages, occupation or education
level when providing information which we now
rely so heavily upon to accurately document their
lives.
Immigration records from both sides of the
research globe can assist family historians.
Their value from the Australian perspective is
obvious in terms of tracing a family 'overseas' -more
often than not the goal of many an Australian
family historian. Their value for tracing family
events and movements in the British Isles is also
becoming more apparent as a greater number of
researchers internationally become aware of their
existence.
References
1. State Records NSW:
Immigration; CGS 5317, Persons on bounty ships to
Sydney, Newcastle and Moreton Bay (Board's
Immigrant Lists). Passenger list of the Sirocco,
arrived 3 October 1864.
2. SRNSW: Immigration; CGS 5317,
Persons on bounty ships to Sydney, Newcastle and
Moreton Bay (Board's Immigrant Lists). Passenger
list of the Morning Star, arrived 3 September
1864.
3. SRNSW: Immigration, CG55264,
Immigration Deposit Journals. Deposit No. 4170 of
1863, Reel 2671.
4.ibid., Deposit No. 1470 of
1864, Reel 2671.
Further Reading and Information
For links to the websites of
National, State and Territory archives see http://www.archivenet.gov.au/archives.html
Kershaw, Roger, Emigrants and
Expats: A Guide to Sources on UK Emigration and
Residents Overseas (PRO 2002).
Madgwick, R.B. Immigration into
Eastern Australia, 1788-1851 (Sydney, Sydney
University Press, 1969).
Martyn Killion, BA, Grad. Dip Applied
Science (Information), Dip FHS, has been involved
in family history for the last 25 years. He has
been employed by State Records (NSW) since 1987
and currently holds the position of Executive
Officer. Martyn was President of the Australasian
Federation of Family History Organisations from
1991 to 1995. He is the President and Honorary
Archivist of the Society of Australian
Genealogists based in Sydney.
