According to my List of Holdings (Victorian PRO), there are 9 volumes of Registers of Discharged Seamen and Deserters and Index 1852-1925 - VRPS 946 but only available at the PRO at Laverton. BUT there is a microfilm copy of Registers of Discharged Seamen & Deserters 1852-1925 (2 rolls) VPRS 2144 available at Laverton, Ballarat & City. I remember looking at this many years ago, as Great Grandfather John Newman Birkley of Flynn near Rosedale is not in any immigration lists that I can find, although his bible was noted 'landed Melbourne 7 June 1869'. I could be wrong but don't think it is fully indexed and a full day's search still hadn't found JNB. Good luck, Sandra Beckett. > > >The family story is that my great grand father jumped ship in Port Phillip > >bay near Melbourne and came to live there prior to moving as a selection to > >Macks Creek near Yarram. > > > >I would like to learn more about what happened when people "deserted" ship > >and what records are kept. How did this effect citizenship (assuming that > >documents of ID may not been available)? Is there a list of deserters? > >What were people who jumped ship called? > > Heather > There should indeed be a list of ships deserters. Get in touch with the > archives in Melb, I think it is in Lonsdale Street now and ask them. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------