About This Project - Access is exclusive to BBFHS Members

This Index was compiled from articles in journals received from family history societies across Australia, England, Scotland and Ireland over many years. These articles can provide fascinating additional information, unavailable elsewhere, about someone in your family tree. The following journals have NOT been included in Surname & Ship Seeker

• The Endeavour - Botany Bay FHS
• Descent - Society of Australian Genealogists
• Bulletin - Sutherland Shire Historical Society

Members will see all references related to the surname search results and can access the articles at our Research Centre.
Disclaimer: There will be errors created in the original article and copied faithfully into Surname & Ship Seeker. Gremlins may appear even though entries were twice checked after indexing.

The Society's heartfelt thanks go to the co-ordinators of the Project, Rhonda McKinnon and Sue Hewitt and the many dedicated members who transcribed the records

Names - NSW

A-C

D-F

G-J

K-L

M-N

R-T

U-Z

Ships - NSW

A-Z

 Frequently Asked Questions

• What kind of information might I find in the Index? Articles from the journals were selected for indexing  with a focus on -
  * Cemetery transcriptions
  * War memorial transcriptions
  * Newspaper reports of local people and events
  * Histories (and pupil details) of local schools, churches and organisations
  * Pioneer settler families
  * Obituaries and biographies
  * Occupations
  * Ships' diaries, passenger lists, shipwrecks giving ship's name, date of sailing, and destination (not always  clearly stated)
  * County histories and parish records in the UK
• What locations does the index cover and how many entries are there?  As of October 2024, over 150,000 entries referencing a NSW location have been uploaded. Other Australian States and the NT are nearing completion
• What format does the index take? Columns with abbreviated details sufficient to identify an individual, BDM dates if given, article title, society/FH group producing the journal, publication date, page number, folder name organised by Australian postcode, e.g. 2508 Helensburgh, UK county e.g. ENG Cornwall; or country e.g. New Zealand
  * For general abbreviations CLICK HERE
  * For military abbreviations CLICK HERE
  * Entries are alphabetical by surname followed by given name. Married females have been indexed by both birth and married name
• Are there any methods of indexing particular surname types that I should be aware of? Yes. Prepositional surnames such as le Clerc, du Pont, von der Damm and Mc Donnell have been indexed without spaces and thus appear as LECLERC, DUPONT, VONDERDAMM and MCDONNELL. The apostrophe has been removed in any surname such as O'Connor and D'Arcy and will appear as OCONNOR and DARCY
• When I find an entry of interest, what do I do next? Make a note of the folder name  in the last column, come to our Research Centre, go to the vertical file cabinets located on the rear wall and select the appropriate folder (arranged in numerical order of post codes) in which the articles are held. They are arranged by journal date found on either the top or bottom of the article page. Some articles were printed over consecutive editions of a journal and may be stapled together. When you finish with an article, please replace in the order in which it was found and place it on the Returns Table at the  end of bookshelves for refiling by Centre assistants. DO NOT REMOVE ARTICLES FROM THE RESEARCH CENTRE.
• I am a long distance BBFHS member. How can I access articles? Send us an email at [email protected] with Surname & Ship Seeker in the Subject heading giving details of your search results and one of our research officers will get back to you to discuss access