.
logo

From the
United Kingdom & Ireland

1835 to 1910

The ships in this index were mostly used to transport the half million immigrants to New Zealand from the United Kingdom and Ireland, during the period 1835 to 1910. The data used in this index was gathered from many sources. The major ones are acknowledged below. If you have any information regarding any errors, a ship visit that appears to be missing, or small notes of interest, I would appreciate it greatly, if you could e-mail me with the details so that we can have a more complete and informative index.
I do not consider the index to be definitive, but it does list approximately 4600 ship visits to the ports of New Zealand. Be aware though, that some of these ships did not carry passengers. This index gives the name of the ship, the port it left from, the date it left, the port it arrived at, the date it arrived, the Captain of the ship, how long the voyage took (where known) and sometimes some notes and a URL to a passenger list or other pertinent information.

It is also worth noting, that the time taken for the voyage is not always very accurate. This is due to whether it is from port to port, land to land, a combination of those or various other factors. Often the criteria used is not given, but even when it is, it can be suspect. So use the time taken for the voyage as a guide only. Likewise the departure date and arrival date of a particular voyage, are often suspect, so once again, treat as a guide only. In some cases the official passenger list and the local newspapers can all be different.

The ports visited are set out below in alphabetical order, with the ships to each port in chronological order of arrival.
 

AUCKLAND BAY OF ISLANDS
BLUFF LYTTELTON
NAPIER NELSON
NEW PLYMOUTH PICTON
PORT CHALMERS TAURANGA
TIMARU WANGANUI
WELLINGTON

Here is a link to an image which shows the approximate route the immigrant vessels took to and from New Zealand.

There is also a page on Wikipedia on the clipper routes between the United Kingdom and New Zealand.


If you know the name of the Ship or a Person you are looking for, use the Search Engine below. It will make for quicker access to the information.


Search this site powered by FreeFind




PLEASE NOTE!!   I DO NOT have any information on passengers who came to New Zealand in these ships or any other ships, or any further information beyond what is contained in this database. Please consult the various links and suggested resources which I have included below. Thankyou.

Ports which have been Re-named :-

           Ahuriri in New Zealand, is now known as the Port of Napier.
           Christiania in Norway, is now known as Oslo.
           Invercargill - NZ - ships use to call at New River.
           Lambton Harbour, Wellington NZ, is now Port Nicholson, Wellington, NZ.
           Queenstown in County Cork, Ireland is now known as Cobh (pronounced 'Cove'). It was originally know as Cove, but was changed to Queenstown in 1850 to commemerate a visit by Queen Victoria. It remained as            Queenstown until 1920, when it was renamed Cobh with the founding of the Irish Free State.
           Victoria Harbour or Port Cooper in New Zealand, is now known as Lyttelton Harbour.

Shipping and Passenger

To and from New Zealand

New Zealand Bound - a must see by Olwyn Whitehouse
Our Stuff - More than 1000 Passenger Lists compiled by Denise and Peter
Outward-bound passengers from the UK. Records of 30 million passengers on thousands of ships sailing to destinations world wide, between 1890 and 1960. This is has been done in association with 'The National Archives" of the United Kingdom. 
Passenger Arrivals at Port Chalmers 1848 to 1851
First Four Ships to Lyttelton. The First Four Ships carried the Canterbury Association’s first settlers to Christchurch.
Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild
The Compass
Ships Logs, Journals, Pictures and Passenger Lists to Australia and New Zealand - complied by Lenore Frost
Ships and Passenger Lists - Links to Ships, Passenger Lists and Immigration/Emigration.
"ShipSearch" - a 'surname' search of passenger lists on the Internet.
Mariners and Ships in Australian Waters - this web site also includes a large number of passenger lists of ships which sailed from Australian ports.
New Zealand Shipping Company
"The Voyage Out" - 'The voyage out', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1973. Images and index of the ship passenger lists from Archives New Zealand on Family Search.
Yesteryears - Immigrant ships to New Zealand.
Passenger Lists to New Zealand
Immigrant Ships to New Zealand - on Wikitree

References:-

I wish to acknowledge the following sources from which details were obtained:

1.    "White Wings", Vol. 1 & 2, by Sir Henry Brett. The Brett Printing Co. Auckland, 1924 and 1928. See more details
       about the author and his books. There is also an on line index extracted by the New Zealand Society of
       Genealogists Computing Group in 1988. It lists the ships mentioned in the two volumes. "White Wings" Vol 1, can be viewed here and 
       Vol 2, can be viewed here.
2.    "Australasian Passenger Lists ", web site by Graham Jaunay.
3.    " Shaw Savill & Co. Fleet List " web site.
4.    "Settlement By Sail" - 19th Century Immigration to New Zealand. Text and original paintings by Gainor W
       Jackson.
5.    "Shipping to New Zealand" - 1839 to 1889. This is a card index compiled by the Rev. William Charles Comber. See sample of cards on microfiche.


These pages may be freely linked to but not copied in any way without my written consent.

[Go To Top]

          Return to "Ships to NZ "      

    

Last Update:- Monday, 27 March 2023