Sea to suburbia, a new photographic exhibition at National Archives' Western Australia Office, offers an insight into the evolving identity of Western Australia. 

From crews on pearling luggers in Broome, to migrant timber worker camps in Pemberton, to miners on the Golden Mile, this new exhibition showcases 4 decades of iconic photography capturing the people, places and daily life of Western Australia.

The exhibition draws on photographic records created by Australian government photographers that travelled across the state from the late 1940s to the early 1980s.

Co-curator Kellie Abbott said the photographic collection held by National Archives is a valuable resource for Western Australian history and heritage.

'This unique exhibition depicts our way of life in an era spanning 40 years from the end of the Second World War.

'Australian Government photographers covered the west from the Kimberley to Esperance, Perth to Kalgoorlie, outback to forest, and sea to suburbia, documenting the extraordinary and the everyday.

‘Some images in the exhibition showcase our beautiful, iconic landmarks, while others illustrate our changing attitudes to the environment and urban development,' she said.

Sea to suburbia is open now at National Archives' Western Australia Office in Northbridge until 28 November 2025.