Thanks Ada for the insight into the records, as well as your efforts. it helps a lot to understand the ways things were done, when searching I find. I guess we always have to remember so many new arrivals did not read & write and I feel sorry for the transcribers taking down the names as people from all over the world with unusual names and especially as they tried to tell them their names with a thick scotch accent or cornish or yorkshire etc, it must have been very difficult and I guess as long as they were allowed ashore would immigrants have worried if the spelling was a little off, no white out in those days. Yes I have transcribed records for sites too and battled with some of the copies being so dark as to be almost unreadable to say nothing of the handwriting which can vary so greatly, or fade or bleed through the paper, so a few mistakes can easily be understood even by the most careful transcribers. I am just glad these records are still available and that people have taken the time to transcribe things like the immigration records and geelong indexes etc for us all. I also believe that not all ships either kept records or handed them on, is that correct do you know? Linda