During this period, especially during the 1870s and 1880s, many migrants came to Australia indirectly from Hamburg via Britain. Instead of sailing directly from Hamburg to various Australian ports, passengers instead sailed initially to a British port and then boarded a larger ship bound for Australia. Migrants came from many countries – Australia, Austria, Bohemia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, North America, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland. Of the 2,044 migrants in this database 1,310 came to various ports in Queensland, 366 to Melbourne, 225 to Adelaide, 105 to Sydney, and 3 to Hobart with others destined for unstated parts of “Australien”.
The closest British ports were Hull and Grimsby (365 nautical miles) however most ships travelled to London (549 nautical miles). Other ports included Hartlepool and Harwich – just one ship sailed to Leith (in Scotland). After arrival, passengers usually made their way to either Liverpool, London, or Plymouth to embark for Australia.
This database records the following for each passenger:
Personal details
Ship details (from Hamburg)
Other details
Interestingly, some ships that were “headed” as destined for “Australien” actually carried passengers noted as going to New York, Port Elizabeth, Natal, and a few other minor places. These have been retained in this database.
Flags. There are some anomalies with the “Flag” of seven ships: