Where to find sources on Australian history

Colorful beach huts on a sandy shore, with the first hut painted like the Australian flag. The huts extend into the distance, with the ocean and palm trees visible under a cloudy sky.
Painted beach huts. © History Skills

Studying Australian history requires access to reliable and relevant sources, but they can be difficult to find. Whether you're exploring the frontier conflict, tracing the impact of the World Wars, or researching stages of colonial settlement, here, we have gathered some of the most useful online archives, libraries, and databases that provide original documents, newspaper articles, artefacts, and academic research.

 

It includes links to government archives, military records, newspaper repositories, and scholarly search engines to help you find what you need for your research projects.


Primary Sources

National Archives of Australia

A huge archive with a range of primary sources from Australia's history.

Australian War Memorial

Contains a vast collection of material from Australia's military history.

Trove Newspapers Online

A collection of Australian newspapers from the past.

National Library of Australia

Has many collections of artefacts, maps and articles with regard to Australian history.

The British Parthé News Footage Archive

Find real primary source film footage of major historical events from the late 19th century to the late 20th century.

Archaeology on the Frontier (Blog)

This blog is about research relating to frontier conflict and especially the native mounted police in Queensland.

Squatters and Selectors Sources

A selection of sources about this topic.



Secondary Sources

Google Scholar

This searches internet sites for academic articles and books. It often only provides one or two pages, but it is often enough to find quotes and bibliographical details.

JURN Search Engine

Search millions of free academic articles, chapters, and theses.