National Library of Australia

Explore the National Library's digitised Manuscripts

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 over 8800 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.

More Manuscripts

Other online resources

September Curator's Choice

Ellis Rowan won the Centennial Art Prize in 1888, defeating established male artists including Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin. Rowan travelled Australia and New Guinea searching for rare and exotic species to paint. This image is from her flower and bird paintings held in the Pictures Collection of the National Library. It recently featured in Betty Churcher's Hidden Treasures series, screened on ABC Television.