Passports of persons leaving England for Australia 1900's

[ChristineBonnitcha]

Where would I be able to find information on passports of my family who immigrated from England to Australia in the early 1900's. I'm hoping for photos of family as I have none at all

[Ruskie]

Have you found a record of their immigration? I think that depending on when they emigrated they may not have required a passport:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_passport

[ChristineBonnitcha]

Hi Ruskie yes i have, they left england 1906 arr sydney aug 1907. What dates did people need passports from

[Malcolm33]

Hi Ruskie yes i have, they left england 1906 arr sydney aug 1907. What dates did people need passports from

    Passports would predate 1906 because I once handled one that had Queen Victoria's arms on the front when I worked for Thos Cook & Son Ltd. in Berkeley Street in 1949.   Someone was applying for a new passport.     It had a similar dark blue cover to those we had before the EU, but instead of pages it opened up from inside into a large one page document.

[Ruskie]

According to the link above:

The 'X' series passport issued in 1917 is one of the earliest passports. It was during World War I that monitoring and identifying those crossing international borders became critical to the security of Australia and its allies;[2]
The War Precautions Act 1914–1915 required that all persons over 16 years of age, on leaving the Commonwealth, possess a passport


I think as Australia was part of the Commonwealth, and Australians were British Subjects (citizens?) that the above may not have applied to those from Great Britain and Ireland.

I'm sure that someone will have a definite answer for you.

Do you have your families arrival in Australia as I would think there should be an indication as to whether there is additional information/other files including passports.

[ChristineBonnitcha]

Yes I just read the wiki link, thanks for that...the only info I have is the passenger list from Ancestry.com

[Ruskie]

If I were you I would look for their arrival in Australia which should give you more information. Do you know which State they arrived in?

[andycand]

Hi

I migrated from England in the 1960's and did not have a passport, I was issued with a Document of Identity by the Australian Government that was valid for the journey.

Andy

[Malcolm33]

   My memory has not let me down.    There were passports issued during the reign of Queen Victoria, from 1855 in fact and they were as I remember One page Documents - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_passport#Historical_passports

    The first English Passports began in 1414 and there is still one dated 1641 signed by King Charles I in existence.