Find your ancestors in Queensland passports index 1915-1925

What can these records tell me?

This publication is an index to a series of passport registers compiled by the Collector of Customs, Brisbane, and currently held by the National Archives of Australia (Brisbane) (NAA Series B.P.384/1). During the 1974 flood in Brisbane, the registers were submerged in water for 2 to 3 days. Following this, they were transferred to the National Archives where action was taken to preserve them. The National Archives of Australia describes the Passport Registers as ‘Core Records of Local Significance’. This index makes the records more accessible to family and local historians, and has been supplied by Queensland Family History Society Inc.

This index of over 13,000 entries includes the following information:

  • First name(s)
  • Last name
  • Year
  • Date
  • Address (covering a wide range, including interstate locations (e.g. Sydney and Murwillumbah) and overseas locations (e.g. Canada, Papua, Ceylon, Fiji, China, and England))
  • Destination (commenced in 1922)
  • Record type (e.g. issue, renewal, visa, inspection, endorsement)
  • Register volume
  • Page number

Depending on the period covered, the registers themselves may include additional information such as passport numbers, warrant numbers, remarks and additional dates associated with the issuing of passports, and occupations. Remarks may include details about soldiers returning home from the Great War.

Every effort has been made to transcribe the entries correctly, however, some of the writing was very difficult to interpret due to the effects of the flood. Where queries arose, checks were made against the corresponding electoral roll and other sources in an effort to determine the correct details.