The National Archives has 2 series of guides to help you find relevant records in our collection. We also have several books on finding records.

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

In this activity, student historians handle copies of real archival records. They use these primary sources to uncover the personal stories of people who served in the First World War.

A surge of Latvian immigration occurred after the Second World War. In the 2021 Census, 23,233 Australians self-identified as having Latvian ancestry.

NameSearch lets you easily search our collection for records relating to a person

The United Nations Refugee Agency defines a refugee as ‘… someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.’

On 1 July 1942, the Montevideo Maru, was torpedoed off the Philippines. All of the Australian Prisoners of War and civilian internees onboard drowned.

Souvenirs sent home to his sweetheart meant trouble for one Australian soldier in the months before the Japanese surrender during the Second World War.

Over 400,000 people enlisted to do their part in ‘The Great War’. Even more tried to sign up. Unfortunately, enthusiasm wasn’t always a match for the Army’s exacting standards.

Australia’s identity has changed significantly since World War II.

Since the First World War, the Australian military has developed, tested and used defence equipment and weapons. During the Cold War, Australia allowed nuclear weapons testing and launched a satellite.

This is a British poster that was used to aid in the recruitment of soldiers during the First World War.

A telegraph regarding Kenneth Farmer, an Aboriginal serviceman injured in the First World War.

This is a lantern slide from a collection illustrating the work of the Imperial War Graves Commission.

This is a First World War attestation form of Chinese-Australian Herbert Kong-Meng.

A record about the decision to intern Japanese Australians during the Second World War.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Australian Government embarked on a large-scale immigration program.

The Defence Act 1909, a law to be enforced by medical officers during the First World War.

This is an excerpt from a sound recording of the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

A report on anti-war activists Captain Hugo Throssell and wife Katharine Susannah Prichard.