The Department of Information was created in 1947 to promote the Australian lifestyle and Australian events overseas, particularly to intending post-war migrants. In 1950 the agency was renamed the Australian News and Information Bureau (ANIB), the title under which it was known until 1973 when it became the Australian Information Service. In 1986 it was renamed Promotion Australia and in 1987 it became the Australian Overseas Information Service (AOIS). In 1994 the AOIS was renamed the International Public Affairs Branch, a branch in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
AOIS photographers travelled to all parts of Australia to take photographs of everyday Australian life. They include subjects such as people, places, events, festivals, fauna, flora, health, agriculture and industry. The majority of these photographs are now held by our office in Canberra.
The AOIS produced a consolidated subject index which covers most of the photographs dating between 1947 and 1996. A copy of this index is available in the Canberra reading room. Use the table below to identify the series to which individual photographs listed in the index belong.
Other indexes include subject and name indexes (held in series A1201) to the black and white photographs (A1200 and A6180) and subject and name indexes (A6140) to the colour photographs (A1500 and A6135).
*In the 'daily single number' series, the first three numbers represent the date (day, month, year), followed by a single consecutive control number. For example, 12/3/77/8 would be the eighth photograph registered on 12 March 1977.
 | Single number with L (Library) prefix | 1948–1971 | A1200 | ||
| Daily single number without prefixes | 1971–1996 | A6180 | ||
*In the 'daily single number' series, the first three numbers represent the date (day, month, year), followed by a single consecutive control number. For example, 12/3/77/8 would be the eighth photograph registered on 12 March 1977.
| Single number with K (Colour) prefix | 1947–1971 | A1500 | ||
| Daily single number with K prefix | 1971–1996 | A6135 | ||
| Single number with KN (Colour negative) prefix | 1947–1971 | A8763 | ||
| Daily single number with KN prefix | 1971–1996 | A8746 | ||
Prints or transparencies of some photographs selected from the subject index may be viewed in the Canberra reading room. The collection may also be searched, digitised images viewed online, and orders placed for copies on our PhotoSearch database.
A photographic reproduction service is available. Details of the range of services offered and a price list are included on the Imaging Services Order Form, which is available from the PhotoSearch homepage. Copies of the form are also available in National Archives reading rooms. Orders can usually be filled within 30 days.
The AOIS and its predecessors created other series of photographs to cover specific topics or events. Some examples of these are listed below:
| Asian affairs | 1953–1996 | A1501 | ||
| SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organisation) | 1957 | A1675 | ||
| Colombo Plan | 1958–1959 | A1768 | ||
| Colombo Plan | 1958–1959 | A1680 | ||
| Colombo Plan | 1958–1959 | A1679 | ||
| Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies | 1959 | A1775 | ||
| External (Foreign) Affairs | 1961–1996 | A6137 | ||
| Melbourne Olympic Games | 1956 | A7135 | ||
| Melbourne Olympic Games | 1956 | A2751 | ||
| Antarctic Treaty | 1961 | A1681 | ||
| Commonwealth Games, Perth | 1962 | A1774 | ||
| World Power Conference, Melbourne | 1964 | A1682 | ||
| Governor-General's tour of Papua and New Guinea | 1966 | A2401 | ||
| Governor-General's tour of Papua and New Guinea | 1966 | A2402 | ||
You can obtain more information about the record series listed above (and the items within the series) from RecordSearch, the Archives database. Follow the links in the series lists to go directly to information on that series. You can also use RecordSearch to find out about the agencies that created the records and to locate more records on your subject. You might also explore PhotoSearch to find out if there are photos pertaining to your subject.
RecordSearch and PhotoSearch are available online or in all Archives reading rooms. Reference staff are available in the reading rooms to help you, or email ref@naa.gov.au.
Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au
updated December 2006