Genealogy Chat

Sorry still a novice so hoping someone out there can point me in the right direction.
I'm trying to trace a grandfather who went to Australia 1925/6. Unfortunately I've only got his surname. I've got a list of passengers from the UK who landed in Australia 1925/6. So i know the ports of embarkation and disembarkation plus the name of the ship.
What do i do next to ensure i can narrow the field down and ultimately see if he is on the list? :-|

Hello Peter - do you mean you only know your grandfather's surname or do you mean that's all that's showing on the passenger list?

Have you checked outgoing UK passenger lists?

If you want some help whittling it down then give us some further details.

HI, yes sorry i meant i only know his surname. i checked with the Australian National Archive and also the outgoing passenger lists on here.
Thanks

Was he named on your parent's BC, or is the surname from family lore? Sometimes unmarried mothers will make something up to appear respectable.

Peter is looking for a Mr Bennett as per family lore. He is not named on a BC.

Is it possible that one of your parent's names might also have been his? Its a bit awkward to work forward without a first name or details of his birth family.

No. i am certain that my father would not have taken his name as his mother tried to keep his father a secret.

On the Findmypast website there are 57 people with the surname Bennett going to Australia in 1925, and 63 in 1926.

Do you know when he was born? Do you mean you know for certain the name of the ship he went on? If so can you give us the name?

Kath. x

My grandmother was born 1906 so i'm working on the assumption that he was born within a year or two of then.
No i don't know which ship he was on. I'm really looking at the next stage from having extracted all the male Bennett's from the list. Where is it best to look next to identify them better. Most haven't got first names or last known address/place of birth.

I'm afraid I don't think you are likely to find any more information other than that given on the records. Without his first name I can't see how you can progress.

Kath. x

i know what you mean. I've started contacting people on Genes Reunited who have Bennett connections and are linked to Newcastle Upon Tyne which is where he/we are from.
Thanks Kath, much appreciated.
Pete x

It's always possible that he returned to the UK.

Try looking for inbound Bennetts. The passenger lists normally give a destination address. If you can find one going to an address in your grandmothers home town, he might be a candidate.

As Kath says, it's highly improbable that you'll ever identify him with an certaincy. Some members have said that they've found legal papers claiming maintenance. Although I've no knowledge how that could be researched, that might be another option.

Have you managed to trace descendents of her siblings, if she had any? May be they were told what had happened. Even the paternal family's occupation might be one step forward.

I've not looked at inbound Bennett's yet but thanks for the tip. i will also look for her siblings descendants. I do believe my father is aware of at least one. Thanks so much.

A very kind person contacted me and offered some detail.
This might be a desperate stab in the dark, however since my father is called Norman i just wonder whether this chap might be worth a closer look. He left in 1927 which is possibly too late however worth a look i think:
Norman Bennett born 1907 left the UK from London on 28/5/27 and landed Sydney on board Hobson's Bay.

Is the YOB calculated from his age in 1927 or is it definite? There were two Norman Bennetts born 1906 in the Newcastle area:

Births Jun 1906 (>99%)

Bennett Norman Middlesbro' 9d 613
Bennett Norman Foster L Newcastle T. 10b 77 d1993 in Bournemouth; m 1929

two others, one 1906 one 1907 in Houghton and one in Auckland:

Births Sep 1906
Bennett Norman Houghton 10a 550

Births Sep 1907 (>99%)

Bennett Norman Houghton le Spring 10a 564 Scan available - click to view
BENNETT Norman David Auckland 10a 260

This Norman in the 1911 - parents both born Newcastle:


Norman Bennett
Age in 1911:5
Estimated birth year:abt 1906
Relation to Head:Son
Gender:Male
Birth Place:Gateshead
Civil Parish:Gateshead
County/Island:Durham
Country:England
Street address:17 Regent St Gateshead
Occupation:School
Registration district:Gateshead
Registration District Number:557

Michael Bennett 36
Isabella Bennett 35
William R Bennett 10
James Bennett 8
Norman Bennett 5
Michael Bennett 1

First name(s) NORMAN
Last name BENNETT
Gender Male
Age 20
Birth year 1907
Occupation CLERK
Departure year 1927
Departure day 28
Departure month 5
Departure port LONDON
Destination port SYDNEY
Destination SYDNEY
State New South Wales
Country AUSTRALIA
Destination country AUSTRALIA
Ship name HOBSONS BAY
Ship official number 151802
Ship master's first name O J
Ship master's last name KYDD
Shipping line AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH LINE
City LONDON
Ship destination port AUSTRALIA
Ship destination country AUSTRALIA
Ship registered tonnage 13850
Number of passengers 770
Record set Passenger Lists leaving UK 1890-1960

UK address: 26 Victoria Street, SHREWSBURY

Hi Jacqueline,
this is the norman bennett i was told about. Where did you get the Shrewsbury address from?

The image of the passenger record

Hi all, thanks so much for all the useful hints and tips you have given me. Having trawled through census reports and passenger lists i now have 1 person who could fit the bill. Do i now press on and try to locate what happened to him on arrival abroad or do i back track and look to contact his descendants to ensure its him? I'm a little worried about doing that in case i find them and they are totally unaware of what happened and might not want to hear the story.
Peter.