Federal election campaigns

The Library aims to collect federal election campaign materials as comprehensively as possible: one copy of all published leaflets, handbills, posters, policy speeches, press statements, pamphlets, letters and reports to constituents, novelties and how-to-vote cards: in other words, anything produced by individual candidates, political parties and lobby groups in the run-up to the vote.

Political ephemera provides a unique perspective into Australia’s social life and political landscape: the rise and fall of policies, issues, parties and careers. The way in which these sorts of documentary heritage items are presented to the electorate by parties, candidates and lobby groups is in and of itself interesting to researchers – the papers and colours used, dye-cut and printing finishes, variations in size/proportion of the stickers, buttons, posters, handbills or letters etc. – as well of course as the messages contained within! 

WANTED – FEDERAL ELECTION 2013 EPHEMERA!

Australians are bombarded with campaign material during elections – flyers, how-to-vote cards, balloons, banners, posters, and the list goes on. But instead of throwing them away, help the National Library of Australia collect them!

We will contine to add to our holdings with material from the race to the 14 September 2013 election: the first addition being a Kevin Rudd (for the seat of Griffith) t-shirt with the competition-winning slogan “IT’S OUR RUDDY FUTURE”, as designed by Shane Marchewka of Studio71.

The Library is particularly interested in material from marginal electorates, communities with concerns about health services, industrial relations, education, the mining industry and climate-affected regions as well as the out-lying areas of Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. If you or your friends and/or relatives in these areas have access to this material (published, not photocopies or digital files), you can forward it for inclusion in the national collection to:

Federal Election Campaign Ephemera
Australian Collection Development
National Library of Australia
Parkes Place
CANBERRA ACT 2600

The PANDORA Archive also archives election-based websites: those hosted by registered parties and lobby groups. Please send through your suggested site/s for archiving to the Web Archiving Team.

Your cooperation in assisting the National Library to collect and preserve this important documentary record is greatly appreciated.