I am trying to track my great grandfather who went to Australia between August 1887 and May 1888. I don’t know where to find passenger lists going that way.Any help would be appreciated.

midnight42 - 2019-07-30 15:37:00

They are very few and far between

carbs51 - 2019-07-30 15:47:00

Try paperspast

nbrob - 2019-07-30 16:11:00

I'm in the same boat …… excuse the pun. Your people do not have the surname of Howell do they Midnight?? I guess that would be too much of a coincidence

l.e - 2019-07-30 18:32:00

https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1609792 has images of passenger lists, mostly to New Zealand, but also includes many outward from New Zealand. You will need to sign in (with as limited information about you as you like); FamilySearch is free.

If your great grandfather wasn't a Smith or Wilson or Williams or Taylor or other common names, you can often identify passengers in the passenger lists published in the newspapers.
For old New Zealand papers:
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers

For Australia:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/

Edited by stock at 8:41 pm, Tue 30 Jul

stock - 2019-07-30 20:38:00

There are also passenger lists at Australian state archives, especially Victoria & New South Wales, but I suggest Family Search and the newspapers first.

stock - 2019-07-30 20:40:00

If you can provide your great grandfather's name and where he lived in New Zealand (and where he settled in Australia), some of the regulars here might be able to help you.

stock - 2019-07-30 20:43:00

l.e wrote:

I'm in the same boat …… excuse the pun. Your people do not have the surname of Howell do they Midnight?? I guess that would be too much of a coincidence

No, I don't think so.

midnight42 - 2019-07-31 11:38:00

stock wrote:

If you can provide your great grandfather's name and where he lived in New Zealand (and where he settled in Australia), some of the regulars here might be able to help you.

His name was John Young Ward and he shows up in Armidale New South Wales newspaper ads as a mining agent, insurance agent, accountant from about June 1888, until about November 1889. After that I can find no reference to him.He left his wife and family behind in New Zealand and she had just had a new baby in May 1888. A daughter got married in 1895 and the marriage notice said she was the daughter of the "late" John Young Ward .I cant find any record of his death , either in New Zealand or Australia.There are a few John Ward;s, but he always called himself John Young Ward. Going by the birth date of the baby, he must have left New Zealand somewhere between September 1887 and June 1888. I have been looking at this for a long time and I seem to have hit the old "brick wall." He probably left from either Timaru or Lyttleton. but I am only assuming that.

midnight42 - 2019-07-31 12:04:00

stock wrote:

There are also passenger lists at Australian state archives, especially Victoria & New South Wales, but I suggest Family Search and the newspapers first.

Thanks, I have tried both of those.

midnight42 - 2019-07-31 12:06:00

Worth a try in here: http://marinersandships.com.au

linette1 - 2019-07-31 12:51:00

He advertises in Armidale to mid 1889 then seemingly disappears.
I note an article that refers to him as J Young Ward where he is a leading light in forming a mining exchange in Armidale in May 1889.

stock - 2019-07-31 15:21:00

stock wrote:

He advertises in Armidale to mid 1889 then seemingly disappears.
I note an article that refers to him as J Young Ward where he is a leading light in forming a mining exchange in Armidale in May 1889.

. Yes, I saw that but I can’t find him after 1889. I could be wrong, but I get the feeling he might have taken off with “another woman”,

midnight42 - 2019-08-02 19:03:00

I've been on that hunt too and have found that quite a few blokes worked their way to Aussi - sounds a pretty casual set-up. Good luck with it.

tessnjess - 2019-08-31 08:05:00