Australian History
Introduction
The National Library of Australia has very rich collections of Australian history material, including large collections such as the Ferguson and Petherick collections and many smaller ones on specific aspects of Australia's history.
Material held covers all formats, including books, journals, newspapers, manuscripts and microform materials.
Please note: A separate guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is found here.
Legal Deposit
Under the terms of the Copyright Act 1968 the National Library is entitled to receive one copy of every item published in Australia.
This ensures that currently published material relating to Australian history is received as comprehensively as possible.
In addition, the Library actively pursues material published overseas by Australian authors or on Australian topics.
National Library collections
Willis Collection - oral histories
Cazneaux Collection - historical photographs
See also: Australian Joint Copying Project
Using the National Library Catalogue
To search for general works about Australian history, select the 'Browse alphabetically' option, then 'subjects' . Some examples of Browse/Subjects searches are:
Don't forget to look for journals published on the topic of Australian history. You can find them in the Catalogue using the subject heading:
Many journals found in the Catalogue have links to an online journal. They are also available in electronic databases through the Library's eresources, or on the internet. Content may be full text or abstract information only.
Some selected journal titles are:
Electronic resources are listed at the Library's eresources pages. They may include some full-text.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
http://www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples - Australian politics and government
http://www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/australian-politics-print - Finding biographical information
http://pc203142.nla.gov.au/research-guides/research-guides/finding-biographical-information
Search for biographical information to find out more about a person's life and achievements. - Finding statistics
http://pc203142.nla.gov.au/research-guides/research-guides/finding-statistics
A guide to finding statistical information from print and online resources
We can't conduct extensive, time consuming, research. In many cases, historical research requires more time than we are able to give.
In some cases you may need to consult private professional researchers for ongoing or extensive historical research. Some relevant associations are listed here.
General works
Australia : moments in history : from Captain Cook to the 21st century by Victor Swain, 2011
From the first pioneers battling the elements, industrial success, great literature and theatre, the tragedy and triumph of 20th century war, victories in sport and an ever-changing relationship between human and land, this is the story of Australia.
Selected works
A history of Australia (2011) Mark Peel and Christina Twomey. An issue-based history of Australia with a clear chronological narrative.
Databases
AUSCHRON - A Chronology of Australian Historic & Current Events Provides a listing of significant events in Australian history with emphasis on current happenings, and covering all topics from politics and law to the arts and sport. Available inside the National Library of Australia building only.
Key items are:
Petherick collection
The gift of the collection of Edward Augustus Petherick presented to the Library in 1909 and comprising ‘some 10,000 volumes and 6,500 pamphlets, maps, manuscripts and pictures relating to Australia and the Pacific area’.
Ferguson collection
The collection of Sir John Alexander Ferguson, transferred over many years, totals some 34,000 printed and manuscript items relating to Australia and the Pacific.
Primary sources
Drouin State School children tend the school's garden
"U429/4. Drouin State School children tend the school's garden; boys aged 10 to 14 years receive an hours agricultural instruction a week which means digging and growing cabbages, onions, potatoes, carrots, salads, tomatoes, Girls tend the flowers. Last year the school welfare fund made 46 pounds for sale of vegetables grown by the boys to the townsfolk. ..."--Printed on label.
See also:
Manuscripts
Ephemera
Newspapers and Biog Files
Archived websites
Oral Histories
Maps
use finding aids
Get number of pages
copies direct
microforms can be sent on interlibrary loan
Nan Kivell Collection
The Nan Kivell Collection includes:
- About 5000 books, pamphlets and periodicals in the Nan Kivell Collection, mostly published in the period 1770–1900.
- 312 manuscript items or collections relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific in the period 1750–1900. They include ships’ logs, diaries, letters, literary manuscripts, family papers and cutting books.
- Paintings, drawings and prints collected by Nan Kivell form the centrepiece of his collection and occupy a unique place within the Library’s Pictures Collection.
- A wide range of objects and artefacts in his collection.
Discovery
John Hamilton Mortimer and the discovery of Captain Cook
Nan Kivell collection
The Rex Nan Kivell collection, purchased in 1962, comprises pictures, prints, maps, manuscripts, books, pamphlets and photographs relating to the discovery and settlement of lands in the South Seas.
There are many publications on the history of Australia's discovery and exploratiion. Structure your searches for precise results, using:
- time period
- geographical area
- individual explorer
In the Catalogue, select the 'Browse alphabetically' option, then 'subjects'. Examples are:
- Australia -- Discovery and exploration
- Cook, James, -- 1728-1778
- South Australia -- History -- 1836-1851
Periodicals
http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn5787168 - Terra Australis : Matthew Flinders' great adventures in the circumnavigation of Australia
Key items are:
NLAref66480 and NLAref65878 - captain cook's journal
- Bass and Flinders Centre
http://www.bassandflinders.org.au/
Website for a museum telling the story of British navigators Matthew Flinders and George Bass and their visit to the coasts of Tasmania. - South Seas
http://southseas.nla.gov.au/index.html
Voyaging and cross-cultural encounters in the Pacific 1760-1800
The life of Captain James Cook by J.C. Beaglehole, 1974. The culmination of the life work of the most distinguished historian of Pacific exploration, this lavishly illustrated biography places Cook in the context of his times and affirms his eminence in the history of maritime discovery.
Convicts
In The First Fleet: The Real Story, 2012, Alan Frost draws on previously forgotten records to debunk persistent myths about the poor organisation of the expedition. He shows that the voyage was in fact meticulously planned - reflecting its importance to the British government's secret ambitions for imperial expansion.
The First Fleet : the real story - http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn5738526
Bushrangers : Australia's greatest self-made heroes - http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn5747534
Convicts and the colonies : a study of penal transportation from Great Britain and Ireland to Australia and other parts of the British Empire / [by] A. G. L. Shaw - http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/5740202
Convict workers : reinterpreting Australia's past / edited by Stephen Nicholas - http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18490742
The Australian people : an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins / edited by James Jupp - http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18741273
1788 : the brutal truth of the First Fleet : the biggest single overseas migration the world had ever seen / David Hill - http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/33472105
The changing face of Australia : a century of immigration 1901-2000 / Kate Walsh - http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/35299347
Other websites and resources you might find useful include:
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/convicts/
http://www.genealogylinks.net/australia/all-australia/convic...etc
NLAref53369 - Captain Arthur Phillip's uniform
- First Fleet artwork collection
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/art-nature-imaging/collections/first-fleet/art-collection/
The collection, from the Natural History Museum, UK, contains 629 drawings and water-colours in total.
Federation
Australia at war
Australians at war : back at Buire, December 1916 Dyson, Will, 1880-1938
A collection of lithographs made from drawings by Will Dyson while acting as a war artist with the Australian Imperial Forces
NLAref66002 - women at war
NLAref65196 - TB in returned soldiers
- Where can I find Australian military records?
http://www.nla.gov.au/infoserv/faq/index.php?sid=1526713&lang=en&action=artikel&cat=8&id=33386&artlang=en&highlight=family%20history
- Mapping our Anzacs
http://mappingouranzacs.naa.gov.au/
Politics
Riley Collection - Australian labour movement
Deakin Collection - Politics and government
Hughes Collection - Politics and government
The States
http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn5156243 - A History of Tasmania
http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn5748448 - A concise history of Western Australia
State and Territory libraries in Australia have excellent resource on their local histories
The Northern Territory Library. See the Northern Territory Collection
State Library of NSW. See History of our Nation and Digitised documents from the collection
State Library of Queensland. See Queensland history
State Library of South Australia. See South Australiana
LINC Tasmania includes the State Library of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Archive & Heritage Office
State Library of Victoria. See Australian history
State Library of Western Australia. See WA Resources







