New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Seamen, 1859-1936

Source Information

Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Seamen, 1859-1936 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data:
  • New South Wales Government. Registers of seamen engaged before the Shipping Master, 1859–1923. NRS 13282, reels 3669–3680. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia.
  • New South Wales Government. Index of seamen engaged before the Shipping Master, 1917–20. NRS 13283, reel 3669. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia.
  • New South Wales Government. Registers of seamen engaged on board ships, 1864–1919. NRS 13284, reels 3667–3668. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia.
  • New South Wales Government. Registers of seamen discharged, 1859–1916. NRS 13286, reels 3680–3688. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia.
  • New South Wales Government. Registers of Certificates of Competency issued. NRS 10785, reels 3689, 3694. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia.

    • © the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales and is used under licence with the permission of the State Records Authority. The State of New South Wales gives no warranty regarding the data's accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose.

    About New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Seamen, 1859-1936

    This collection contains registers of seamen engaged or discharged in New South Wales, Australia, between the years 1859 and 1936. You’ll also find registers of certificates of competency issued between 1905 and 1933. These certificates were issued to masters, engineers, first mates, pilots, and others.

    Records vary depending on type and year, but you may find some of the following details:

    • name
    • age
    • birth date
    • birthplace
    • vessel
    • engagement or discharge date
    • capacity (i.e., occupation)
    • master or vessel owner
    • last ship
    • where sailor boarded or was discharged current ship
    • address
    • remarks

    You may also find some details about voyages.

    The State Records Authority of New South Wales notes the following about crew lists:

    State Records holds lists of crew arriving in New South Wales before 1923. Research into these records can often be difficult as there is no comprehensive index to the nineteenth century crew lists. Furthermore, some lists do not record the crew by name.

    After 1922 recording the arrival of crew became the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government and the records are held by the National Archives of Australia.