Stories from the archives

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1954.

The 1954 royal tour

In February 1954 a steamship arrived in Sydney Harbour carrying the first reigning monarch to visit Australia – Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.

Men in suits wearing hard hats standing before a rocket gantry.

Rocket man

Richard Gardiner Casey served Australia in many roles, most famously as Governor General. He also had a personal fascination with space.

Passport of Luigia de Lazzari with her photograph and visa ‘good for travelling to Australia’.

Commemorating 100 years in Australia

On 20 April 2022, the Moro family visited the National Archives to observe the 100th anniversary of their mother and grandmother leaving Italy for Australia.

View from the summit of Mount Ainslie, 1929.

Something for all of us

In 1911, Marion Mahony Griffin and her husband Walter Burley Griffin imagined the Australian capital during a cold Chicago winter.

Four men of the Volunteer Defence Corps relaxing on the grass.

Unsung heroes

80 years ago, the Volunteer Defence Corps stood ready to help defend Australia following Japan’s explosive entry into the Second World War.

Luigia Magro and her eight children who arrived in Melbourne in January 1953.

More than mug shots

Maltese migration records from 1948 to 1955 bring to light amazing photographs which convey the spirit and character of these migrants.

Innovation and invention

From the iconic, to the unique and quirky, explore some of thousands of patents, designs and trademarks in the National Archives collection.

View from the Summit of Mount Ainslie, 1911-1912

Painting the hills

Marion Mahony and Walter Burley Griffin's love of nature was fundamental to their design for Australia's new capital.

Proclamation of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II signed by Australian government ministers.

Seventy not out

This year, Queen Elizabeth II marks her ‘platinum jubilee’ – the seventieth 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne.

I am woman

Groundbreaker, trailblazer, pioneer: all these terms have been used to describe the career of Australian feminist and politician, Susan Ryan.

Re-enactment on a convict ship showing a convict being punished with a cat o' nine tails.

Ship of shame

From 1895, a sensationalist touring exhibit exploited the Australian public’s appetite for a gothic convict narrative.

John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia 1941–45

Declaration of independence

They are some of the most important documents in Australia’s evolution as an independent nation. This is the story of Australia’s first declarations of war.