Our exhibition galleries are temporarily closed
The National Library’s exhibition galleries are closed until mid-2024 while we make improvements to our much-loved heritage building.
The information below gives you a snapshot of what will be featured in our galleries when they reopen in mid-2024.
Reopening in mid-2024: Treasures Gallery
From maps and rare books to manuscripts, photographs, paintings and ephemera, the Treasures Gallery is where you will find many of the Library’s most important, unexpected and unique items. Be intrigued, surprised, challenged and amazed by the stories our treasures tell about Australia’s history and culture.
Reopening in mid-2024: Temporary Gallery
Hopes and Fears: Australian Migration Stories
Many Australians have a migration story. Somewhere in their family tree is an ancestor who embarked on a long and difficult journey. They might have been a convict, a sailor or a soldier. Perhaps a young woman sent from a workhouse, or a child migrant from an orphanage. Some came to exploit the opportunities of empire, in search of land and gold. Some were brought in as indentured labourers to work on plantations in the tropical north. Others were refugees fleeing war and political prosecution, or workers seeking a more secure future. Coming from all parts of the globe, these migrants have helped to make Australia one of the most diverse nations in the world.