A raft of newly preserved records is helping connect community with history ahead of the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea's independence this month.

To mark this milestone, National Archives of Australia has preserved and digitised over 5,500 records, including early 20th century glass plate negatives recognised by UNESCO’s Australian Memory of the World Register.

National Archives Director-General, Simon Froude, said the preservation and digitisation work was the result of over a year of collaborative effort across governments on significant records relating to Papua New Guinea's road to independence.

'The records in Australia's collection demonstrate our shared history with Papua New Guinea. From historic photographs and legislative correspondence, to war service records and patrol reports, these all act as a window to the past.

'One series of international significance includes glass plate negatives and photographs taken by government anthropologist F.E. Williams between the early 1920s and late 1930s.

'National Archives is proud to connect people to their history, and to our national collection, through important preservation and digitisation work like this,' Mr Froude said.

Canberra locals and visitors can connect with some of these records at a free community day at National Archives on Saturday 13 September. Visitors are invited to explore some of the original documents and participate in curator-led talks and demonstrations.

Nearby, there's an opportunity to connect with Papua New Guinean history across the National Triangle, with free events at the National Gallery of Australia and National Library of Australia.

More information on the community day is available on National Archives' website.

For those who can't catch the community day, a display celebrating Papua New Guinea’s path to independence will be open at National Archives from 13 September until early 2026.

Images of records, and interviews with curatorial and preservation project staff, are available upon request.