Latest media releases

HMAS Sydney – key documents online

19 November 2008
The recent discovery of the HMAS Sydney has resulted in renewed interest in the National Archives’ records of the disaster.

Looking at Darwin with new eyes

18 November 2008
Darwin historian Dr Mickey Dewar has shed new light on the city’s postwar history, with a research grant from the National Archives of Australia.

Prime Minister opens Shell-shocked: Australia after Armistice

12 November 2008
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today opened a new exhibition at the National Archives, which shows the ongoing impact of World War I on Australia and its people.

Prime Minister to open Shell-shocked: Australia after Armistice

11 November 2008
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will open the new exhibition Shell-shocked: Australia after Armistice at the National Archives of Australia.

Fred, Frank or James – the digger with three names

5 November 2008
When World War I veteran James Carlin applied to join his local returned servicemen’s club in 1965, the army was unable to find any record to verify his war service.

Looking at Darwin with new eyes

28 October 2008
Darwin historian Dr Mickey Dewar has shed new light on the city’s post-war history, with a research grant from the National Archives of Australia.

Farewell to fashion pics

10 October 2008
The celebration of fashion photography from the 1960s and 1970s is coming to an end at the National Archives in Canberra.

Holt’s briefcase preserved for posterity

22 October 2008
Harold Holt’s briefcase, which the former prime minister took to Portsea on the weekend he went missing, is on display in the National Archives in Canberra.

Kissing games in the National Archives

9 October 2008
Kissing games, small busts and fickle fiancés were major concerns for teenagers in 1961, according to the National Archives’ latest Find of the Month.

Australia’s richest natural history art prize

25 September 2008
Top entries in Australia’s richest natural history art prize feature in a new exhibition at the National Archives in Canberra.

National Archives award for creative visualisation

17 September 2008
The National Archives of Australia will support a groundbreaking project that uses creative visualisation to interpret large sets of archival data, with its 2008 Ian Maclean Award.

Reel Memories – at the National Archives

12 September 2008
As part of the 2008 Floriade trails, the National Archives of Australia is screening Reel Memories, a selection of film clips that show how much the nation has changed in the past 60 years.

Anzac mythology obscures reality

11 September 2008
Historian Dr Craig Stockings revealed how Anzac mythology can obscure the reality of Australian military history, in a lecture at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra on 16 September.

'Pneu tube' all the rage

8 September 2008
While communicators today share their news through You Tube, in 1925 the ‘pneu tube’ was all the rage.

Celebration of 60s fashion

7 August 2008
People around Australia can now see the National Archives’ popular exhibition Strike a Pose online. The exhibition, which recently opened, features trends of the 1960s and 1970s in a celebration of Australian fashion photography.

Predictions for ‘rather a dry year’ in 1908

6 August 2008
‘Rather a dry year’ was in store for Australia in 1908, according to long range weather forecaster J Harcourt Giddons. The National Archives has chosen Giddons’ 1908 Commonwealth Weather Chart as its August Find of the Month.

Archives should seek ‘natural allies’

6 August 2008
Government archivists across the world should develop close links with ‘natural allies’ to encourage better recordkeeping across their public services, says Ross Gibbs, Director-General of the National Archives of Australia.

From carbon paper to laser printers

1 August 2008
From carbon paper to laser printers, the story of office copying has been captured in The Office Copying Revolution, a new book by conservator Ian Batterham, published by the National Archives of Australia.

Global electronic standard the way of the future

24 July 2008
A multinational team, led by archival institutions in Australia and New Zealand, has published a global standard for recordkeeping software. The National Archives of Australia has worked with the national archives of 11 nations to develop an agreed set of standards for software products that are used to make and keep records.

National Archives push for integrated digital preservation

24 July 2008

The National Archives of Australia continues to push for an integrated approach to managing digital information at the 16th International Council on Archives (ICA) Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Held every four years, the Congress celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2008, and has attracted 1200 archivists from 138 countries. The ICA promotes the preservation, development and use of the world’s archival heritage.

Strike a Pose ... with Lee Lin Chin

17 July 2008

Trends of the 1960s and 1970s have taken centre stage at the National Archives in Canberra with a celebration of Australian fashion photography. Strike a Pose … with Lee Lin Chin explores the world of Australian style up to 40 years ago, when trendsetters created a fashion revolution with a mix of mini skirts, space-aged garments and granny dresses.

Senator Faulkner: Australian Constitution like stump-jump plough

9 July 2008
Cabinet Secretary, Senator John Faulkner, has likened the Australian Constitution to a stump-jump plough, designed to go over obstacles without actually removing them.

Making Australia Home

9 July 2008
Cabinet Secretary, Senator John Faulkner, today launched the National Archives’ Making Australia Home project which aims to progressively make Australia’s historic immigration records available online. The National Archives has already digitised 74,000 items, giving family researchers and others the opportunity to view and print their files at home.

Citizenship ceremonies mark Constitution Day

9 July 2008
The National Archives has joined forces with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to highlight the importance of the Australian Constitution to all citizens, new and old.

Constitution a barrier to Aboriginal electorate

3 July 2008
A proposal to establish a federal Aboriginal electorate that crossed state boundaries, came up against ‘a constitutional barrier’ in 1949.

Antarctic map presentation

23 June 2008
The first Australian map of the whole Antarctic continent, published in 1939, became part of the National Archives of Australia’s collection today, with a presentation by the Australian Antarctic Division.

Historic footage from National Archives for Antarctic Film Festival

21 June 2008
The National Archives of Australia is proud to be co-sponsoring and hosting the Longest Night Film Festival as part of this year’s Mid-Winter Antarctic Festival.

Information in a digital world

18 June 2008
The challenges of managing information in a digital world will be discussed by national archivists from Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the National Convention Centre in Canberra today.

Celebrating the Constitution

13 June 2008
The people of Brisbane will have a one-day opportunity to view Sir Samuel Griffith’s personal 1891 draft of the Australian Constitution this week.

Farewell to Max Dupain

13 June 2008
Visitors to the National Archives in Canberra have only one more week to catch the Max Dupain on Assignment exhibition.

Gough Whitlam's recollections of 11 November 1975

10 June 2008
Former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam has shared his personal recollections of 11 November 1975, the day he was dismissed by then Governor-General Sir John Kerr.

Choosing a site for Watson’s Bay post office in 1889

3 June 2008

Getting the mail through in colonial Australia wasn’t always an easy matter. In the days before Federation in 1901, the safe delivery of letters depended upon the dedication of posties who often suffered from accidents, poor health and hardship.

As its Find of the Month for June, the National Archives of Australia has chosen to feature documents relating to postal services in the early days of the nation.

Release of Hope Royal Commission records

13 May 2008

From 1974 to 1977 the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security, headed by Justice Robert Marsden Hope, investigated the Australian intelligence agencies. While some reports were published at the time, others have been securely stored for 30 years.

Now, 30 years after the conclusion of the Royal Commission, the National Archives of Australia is releasing much of the material from the reports and more than 1000 records created or received by the Commission.

Footprints: The Journey of Lucy and Percy Pepper

13 May 2008
Footprints, a book portraying the struggles of Lucy and Percy Pepper, has been published jointly by the National Archives of Australia and Public Record Office Victoria.

Central role for National Archives

2 May 2008
The Director-General of the National Archives of Australia, Ross Gibbs, has welcomed the agency’s transfer today into the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Banish the budget blues – at the National Archives

1 May 2008
In writing ‘Banish the budget blues’ in 1930, popular songwriter and entertainer Jack Lumsdaine captured the spirit of many Australians trying to overcome hardship with a song and a laugh during the Great Depression.

The camera at Gallipoli

7 April 2008
Photographs of Australian troops at Gallipoli, taken by three young diggers in 1915, have been chosen by the National Archives of Australia as its April Find of the Month exhibit.

The games we played

25 March 2008
Colourful board games, played by Australians in the early 1900s, will also tempt players at the National Folk Festival in Canberra this Easter.

Family Journeys book launch

19 March 2008
Actor Noni Hazlehurst spoke about her family’s arrival in Melbourne as ‘ten-pound poms’ today when she launched Family Journeys, the book containing their story, published by the National Archives of Australia.

What’s in a name – Canberra or Frazer Roo?

11 March 2008
Australia’s capital city may have been known as Gamelyn, Nardoo, Aurora or Frazer Roo if some of the nation’s early politicians had their way.

Senator Faulkner to launch family history day

26 February 2008
Senator Faulkner, Special Minister of State and Minister responsible for the National Archives of Australia will officially open the National Archives 'Shake Your Family Tree' day at 10.00am on Wednesday 27 February.

High Court archives on Memory of the World register

20 February 2008
This week, the archives of the High Court of Australia will be added to the Australian register for UNESCO’s Memory of the World program.  Memory of the World is a register of significant heritage documents maintained by UNESCO.  It is the equivalent of the World Heritage List, which records sites of natural and built heritage significance.

After the flood – rescuing damaged records and photos

19 February 2008

Help is at hand to salvage water-damaged personal records. The National Archives of Australia has released website content that highlights practical steps to take when faced with wet personal documents.

Molly Meldrum and his royal faux pas

15 February 2008
A limited edition LP, Silver Jubilee Australian Top 20 has been selected by the National Archives of Australia as its February Find of the Month, not only for its royal significance but also because of a faux pas by Countdown presenter Molly Meldrum.

Shake your family tree

15 February 2008

Visitors to the National Archives are often surprised and delighted to find information about themselves and their families in the collection. To encourage Australians to unearth these personal treasures, all Australians are invited to a national day of activities.

Origins of the Australian Flag

8 January 2008

Following Federation in 1901, the new Commonwealth government held a competition to design an Australian flag. It attracted 32,000 entries from around the world, including five similar designs which were declared the joint winners.

However, 50 years later there was some controversy about the origins of the design.