Index to Outward Passengers

This week PROV volunteers have completed indexing outward passenger lists from Melbourne to interstate and foreign ports for the years 1908-1912.  These years are now available through the online index which is a searchable list of passengers travelling on ships leaving Victoria.  Researchers can now search the period 1852-1912 by passenger names, ship name or departure date and obtain a reference to the microfilm copy of the lists (catalogued as VPRS 3506) available in PROV Reading Rooms.

Previously researchers would have to wait until the end of each calendar year for many years of shipping data to be uploaded into the index.  PROV staff have worked towards updating the online indexes on a more regular basis; now as volunteers complete a year of shipping data it will be updated and accessible in the online database.  This consistent uploading is great news for researchers and allows our volunteers’ hard work to be accessed in a more functional way.

Keep an eye on PROV’s social media feeds through Facebook and Twitter for updates as more data is added to the index.