Federation provided the opportunity for composers to express their pride in the new nation of Australia. The National Library of Australia holds a rich collection of music from this era. It includes marches, patriotic songs, and dance music, with many titles having highly decorative covers. Much of it has been digitised and is available online.
McDougall, Wendy. (2001). Federation Parade walks proud along Sanger St. Corowa, 28th January 2001.
Catalogue search tips
Music can be found in the catalogue using the 'Browse subjects' option. Some useful subject headings to use include:
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Use the Add limits drop down menu to restrict your search to music material only.
In our Reference collection
The following material is in the Main Reading Room Reference collection. No call slip is required.
- A chronological history of Australian composers and their compositions / researched, compiled and edited by Stephen Pleskun.
RF 780.P726
Vol 1 1901-1954 covers the Federation period - Oxford companion to Australian music
RF 780.99403 O98
Oral history
Although there are very few recordings available of people living at Federation, in 2001 the National Library undertook to record the voices of 100 Australians who at the centenary of federation were 100 years of age or older. These are available in the 100 centenarians, the children of federation oral history project.