Info re shipping lines connecting Australia-New Zealand-Argentina early 1900s

[ValJJJ]

I know there are lots of passenger lists out there but I am hoping to narrow down the ones to trawl through.

I'm wondering which shipping lines, or specific ships, sailed between Australia and Argentina via New Zealand in the 1915-25 period?

A relative told his children that he travelled from Australia bound for Argentina, but got off the boat in Auckland, New Zealand instead, which is where he settled.  Very little is known about this story, and I'm presuming he was a crew member but could have been a paying passenger I suppose, in which case perhaps you bought your ticket in stages or it was easy to get  a refund if you changed your mind.  I don't think he was wealthy enough to throw away money on a journey not made.

Any method of narrowing down the search would be welcome!

Thanks.

Val

[majm]

Hi,

I wonder if your thread would benefit from being on the New Zealand board?   You mention that  ancestor disembarked there.

Both NZ and Australia were supporting the British Empire during WWI  with troops in Europe and those troops went by ship..... ships converted from passenger liners to military transports ... soldiers, horses, food, ammunition, field hospitals, etc. and then after the war,  there was the wait and the up to thtee or four month sea journey back from Europe...  so from 1915 to 1920 ish ,  very few passenger ships... even fewer passenger lists retained.

Have you searched the digital newspapers from that era .... NZ =  papers past   and Australia= trove  ; both excellent resources, 

JM

[mckha489]

Have you checked on Familysearch NZ shipping lists.
Some of these include crew and are indexed. You never know you might be lucky.

https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1609792

[ValJJJ]

Thanks Majm - very good point about WW1. I wonder how long it was before passenger ships returned to normal?

I did consider putting this on the NZ board, but wanted to find ships on the Aus-Argentina via NZ route, so thought it might be best to look at the country where the ships left from.

I've seen Paperspast but didn't know about Trove so I'll look at that.  Thanks.

Thanks Mckha489 - I have seen those passenger lists and there are lots to plough through as the name I'm looking for is very common.  So I was hoping to narrow it down a little first.  However I am methodically working my way through those lists.

Val

Val

[Ruskie]

Was he born in Australia? Did he serve in WW1?

Does his occupation indicate that working as ship’s crew is feasible? War/post war occupations would be more fluid though I expect.

There may be some truth in the story ... but I don’t know why ships from Australia would have the need to travel to Argentina at that time. Aus to NZ yes, but beyond that? 

[ValJJJ]

Hi Ruskie - thanks for the questions but a confusing backstory, possibly fictitious, doesn't help.  So I'm grasping at straws. Unlikely to have been born in Australia - no birth record there.

I thought it unusual that a route was connecting Australia and Argentina via NZ, so thought it might narrow the search to just a few ships and journeys.  However, perhaps the idea was to travel from Aus to NZ, then pick up another ship to Argentina, but again, I don't know if this was a common shipping route either.

I suspect a lot of crewing work could be unskilled, manual labour, or quickly taught.  And crew work would have extended to the kitchen work etc so not even specific to boats.  He was supposed to have been a sheep shearer in Aus at 16 years old, and in NZ qualified to be a steam engineer working on the railways.  Not much help is it?

It is also possible he arrived in NZ earlier than I first though - possibly 1913.

[Ruskie]

There may possibly have been some ships heading to South America for trade purposes?

Railway engineer might fit with work on a ship though what you say about unskilled labour makes sense too.

Do his marriage or death certificates mention place of birth? Each Australian State holds their own records so it can be tricky to find births in Australia. Have you checked for him on WW1 records in Australia and/or NZ?

[majm]

Argentina ... like Australia and NZ .... sheep .. . Wool and meat.

JM

[ValJJJ]

I don't think he gained expertise in steam engineering until living in NZ.

I am about to explore WW1 possibilities re Aus and NZ.

Marriage and death cert state born in Sydney, Aus, but this is doubtful as no birth record for him there, however there is one in the UK of the correct date.

I am trying to match the records of someone in the UK with a complex childhood story with another of the same name and birthdate in Aus/NZ to see if they are one and the same, or whether I'm trying to make information fit the few facts that exist. 

All I have as fact is a marriage and death certificate and am trying to work backwards from the known to find possibilities.  Of course a lot is currently unavailable as it is not digitised and archive offices are closed at present.  But once they re-open I'll have a whole list of lookup requests!

So far I think these records might add to/confirm/ confuse further:

WW1 records for Aus and NZ - he was supposed to be a sheap shearer which might have been a reserved occupation in Aus.
Electoral rolls in Aus depending on the age/property requirements. 
Intention to marry in the NZ records - but reading room closed at present
Any railway employee records
Arrival records in Auckland over the period 1913-early 1920s.
Departure records Aus to Auckland - but I don't know which port.
Arrival/passenger records UK-Aus - but I don't know the year or ports.

Will keep me busy and his relatives in Aus and NZ!  Snippets from the family anecdotes there just do not add up - his children recall different tales he told that contradict each other.