Discover Australia through the words of Captain James Cook in the Journal of the H.M.S. Endeavour, get to know Australia's first prime minister, Sir Edmund Barton, through his papers, or find out how Australia's most iconic song 'Waltzing Matilda' came into being.
Explore close to 9000 items online by viewing the selection showcased below or browse all digitised items from the Manuscript Collection in our catalogue. To review our progress read Manuscripts digitisation - progress so far and Digitisation - overview.
James Cook Journal of the HMS Endeavour 1768-1771
Sir Joseph Banks
Original manuscript of the song 'Waltzing Matilda'
Draft of Bill to Constitute the Commonwealth of Australia Federation Campaign 1890-1901
Billy Hughes with daughter Helen Hughes
Papers of William Morris Hughes
1930-1949
Menu for a dinner... 1917 Papers of Dame Nellie Melba
Portrait of Alfred Deakin 1886 from Papers of Alfred Deakin
Second expedition to New Guinea from Diary No. 2 1922 Papers of Frank Hurley
Portrait of Moya Beaver Ballet Nationale, 1941 Papers of Moya Beaver
Letter from James Griffiths in Portsmouth, to his mother dated July 11th, 1822
Billy Hughes sitting with two children and holding a teddy bear
Lontar about 'how to treat or what to do with a corpse' c.1800-1971
Peter Finch and others on the set of Eureka Stockade 1947
Cyphered and translated cablegram from Sir Walter H. James to Alfred Deakin 1905
Leone Vining Brown's Portrait of a dancer in Ian Spink's Figurescape 1973
Letter from Hans Heysen to his daughter Nora Heysen 1935
Dr Peter Russo with unknown man at a Merdeka rally in Singapore
Flyer seeking information about the disappearance of Kingsford Smith 1935 Marking the second anniversary of the official apology to the Stolen Generations, the Library is making available recordings from the Bringing Them Home oral history project. In this interview, Mona Tur tells how she was threatened with removal from her mother, a traditional Antikirinja / Yunkunytjatjara woman. When she was eight years old, Mona was eventually sent to the United Aboriginies Mission at Oodnadatta, South Australia. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she was able to maintain strong links to her family and culture.