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Australian history: print resources

Australian history

The Library holds a large range of primary and secondary resources relating to the history of Australia. This guide contains selected print works only.

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To search for general works about Australian history, select the Browse subjects option. Examples of Browse subjects searches are:

To search for works about a particular aspect of Australian history, select the Browse subjects option. Examples are:

Reference collection

Available on open access in the Main Reading Room.

General

Oxford Companion to Australian History. 2001.
Covers people, institutions and events that have shaped Australian society, politics and culture. There are numerous extended essays on key facets of the nation's life - political, social, cultural, scientific, military and economic. RF 994.003 O98.
Australians: A Historical Library. 1987.
A twelve volume historical library published for the bicentenary in 1988. Five volumes cover the history of Australia, and the other seven consist of reference texts covering aspects such as events and places, historical statistics, a guide to sources, historical dictionary and historical atlas. RF 994 A938.
The Australian Encyclopaedia. 1996.
Emphasises distinctive features of Australia, particularly history, geography, natural history and the Aboriginal people. RFq 039.4 A938-6.
The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins. 2001.
Documents the history of Australian settlement and describes the ethnic and cultural identity of the nation through the contributions of its people. RFf 994 A932.
A History of Australia. 1962-1987.
Manning Clark’s classic six volume work covering the period of European settlement of Australia from 1770 to 1935. RF 994 CLA.

Chronologies

Australia Through Time. 1993+
Annual chronology covering Australian history since 1868. An account of news-making people and events of the day set in the context of the time The latest issue is located in the Reference Collection. NLf 994.04 AUS.
Chronicle of Australia. 2000.
Information is presented chronologically from the estimated period of the first human contact of what is now Australia, to the present time. RFq 994 C557.
Australia: An Illustrated History: From Dreamtime to the New Millennium. 2004.
Describes the history of Australia from the age of the dinosaurs to the present time, with more than 600 pictures and a bright and readable text. Rich in little-known facts about all aspects of Australian history. RF 994 M137.

Military history

The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History. 1995.
Explores diverse topics in Australia’s military history and explains how military questions have affected Australian history. RF 355.00994 O98.
Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918. 1921-1942.
C.E.W. Bean’s twelve volume series covering Australian involvement in the First World War. There is a separate record in the catalogue for each volume. A set can be found at: RF 940.394 OFF.
Australia in the War of 1939-1945. (Series title) 1952-1987.
Official series that covers Australian involvement in the Second World War. Consists of five different series: Army, Navy, Air, Civil and Medical. There is a separate record in the catalogue for each volume in each series. RF 940.5394 AUS.

Biography

Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1966+
Comprises sixteen volumes of lives of the more important figures in Australian history. The volumes are divided into time periods. Volumes one and two contain articles about people prominent between 1788-1850; volumes three to six, the period 1851-1890; volumes seven to twelve, the years 1891-1939; and volumes thirteen to sixteen, those who died between 1940 to 1980. RF 920.094 AUS (also available online to onsite users).
The Founders of Australia: a Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet. 1989.
Mollie Gillen’s comprehensive list and description of all the convicts, military and seamen who sailed on the First Fleet, including information about their fate in Australia. RF 994.020922 G476.
The Second Fleet: Britain's Grim Convict Armada of 1790. 2001.
Companion volume to the above, this work contains biographical studies of the men and women who sailed on the six ships of the Second Fleet. RF 994.020922 F648.

Primary sources

Historical Records of Australia. 1914-1925.
Consists of thirty-three volumes of transcripts of significant documents in Australian history, covering the period 1786 to 1848. These volumes constitute one of the principal collections of primary sources in the study of colonial Australian history. RF 994 HIS.
Historical Records of New South Wales. 1892-1901.
This seven volume set provides comprehensive information concerning the foundation, progress and government of the colony of New South Wales during the period 1762-1811. RF 994.4 HIS.
Historical Records of Victoria. 1981-2002.
A collection of surviving documents concerning the foundation and administration of the colony of Victoria for the period 1835-1840. RF 994.5 HIS.
The Journals of Captain James Cook on his Voyages of Discovery. 1955-1974.
Edited from the original manuscripts by J.C. Beaglehole, the four volumes provide a reliable and authoritative text of Cook's account of his three voyages of discovery in the Endeavourand the Resolution. RF 910.4 COO.

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