Events and exhibitions

Connections gallery

Exhibition

Connections / Mura gadi

Canberra

The Connections exhibition reflects surprising and important connections between Australians and their government.

Voices Gallery National Archives of Australia.

Exhibition

Voices / Dhuniai

Canberra

Visit the Voices exhibition to take a journey through the history of the Australian Constitution and the rights and freedoms it guarantees.

Three women standing on a sandstone cliff above the ocean dressed in futuristic fashion.

Touring Exhibition

Out of this world

17 Oct 2022 - 15 Apr 2023

Longreach

See how the space age captured the imagination of a nation and its people, from mid-century fashion to early satellites and rocket playgrounds.

Abandoned building and horse drawn grader.

Exhibition

Ghost town

07 Nov 2022 - 30 Jun 2023

Perth

Explore records from the state and national archival collections that highlight the fascinating history of Western Australia's ghost towns.

2 people talking

Guided Tour

Disrupt, persist, invent guided tours

07 Jan 2023 - 11 Jun 2023

Canberra

Join a National Archives team member to explore stories of change and delve further into the diverse stories shown in Disrupt persist invent.

Black and white photograph of Lydia Janovska sitting in a chair

Touring Exhibition

Spy: espionage in Australia

20 Mar 2023 - 07 Jul 2023

Melbourne

Spy: Espionage in Australia reveals the personal experiences of secret agents and the curious history of espionage and counter-espionage in Australia.

Portraits of Eki Nishioka from her Certificate exempting from dictation test.

Event

Perth Japan Festival

25 Mar 2023

Perth

On display at the Japanese Festival Perth. Records from the national archival collection relating to history of Japanese migration to Australia.

Bring Out a Briton Promotion illustration of a woman, baby and belongings on a rowboat.

Event

A ticket to paradise

28 Mar 2023

Adelaide

Learn about one of the many assisted passage to Australia schemes that came into place after World War II. And, the rich history that emerges from the documents completed by or for migrants applying to migrate to Australia.

Blind high school boy, Ken Todd of Brisbane with braille typewriter

Event

Descriptive discovery

29 Mar 2023 - 19 Apr 2023

Online

A webinar designed for blind and vision impaired audiences. Presenting stories and descriptions of the materials in the National Archives collection.

A child creating art at the National Archives of Australia

Event

Holiday program: art workshops

12 Apr 2023 - 21 Apr 2023

Canberra

Creative workshops for children aged 6 to 12 years. Taking inspiration from the National Archives exhibition, Disrupt persist ,invent.

A print maker inspecting her work.

Event

After dark: protest art workshop

14 Apr 2023

Canberra

Celebrate World Art Day with an after-dark workshop that fuses art with archives to create eye-catching pieces with a purpose.

Service record photographs of John Alexander French, 1939.

Event

Those who served

18 Apr 2023 - 21 Apr 2023

Brisbane

Come and learn about the collection of Second World War service records which are available online.

Soldiers getting ready at dawn in the Western Desert, January 1941.

Event

An epic battle

24 Apr 2023

Adelaide

Explore the history of the battle of Tobruk and the South Australian soldiers who took part in the conflict.

Cars parked beside East Block Commonwealth Offices.

Guided Tour

Stories, spies and spaces

27 Apr 2023

Canberra

A guided tour of 1920s East Block building during the ACT Heritage Festival.

East block facade south detail

Members

East Block tour

27 Apr 2023

Canberra

A tour of historic 1920s East Bock for NAA members.

A child at a craft workshop.

Event

Storytime

28 Apr 2023 - 26 May 2023

Canberra

A holiday event for children under 6 years of age. Activities include songs, stories, music and craft.

Tea rooms, telegraph poles and people standing on a street corner

Event

Ghosts of Perth

29 Apr 2023

Perth

A presentation of ghost stories by ‘Dodgy Perth’ historian Eddie Marcus and archivists Helen Hopper and Kellie Abbott.

Family dining by the motel pool.

Touring Exhibition

Reception this way

29 Apr 2023 - 13 Aug 2023

Longreach

Travel around Australia revisiting your memories of the classic Aussie motel.

Testing the polio vaccine at Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, 1956.

Guided Tour

Curator talk: Disrupt, persist, invent

05 May 2023

Canberra

A curator lead tour of National Archives' temporary exhibition, Disrupt, persist, invent: Australians in an ever-changing world.

Migrants in the community - Maltese mother wins contest for Australian visit - Mrs Filomena Vassallo.

Anniversary event

The Malta-Australia Migration Agreement

06 May 2023

North Melbourne

75th anniversary of the Malta-Australia Migration Agreement.

Maltese government officials with newly arrived Maltese migrants at Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney.

Event

From restricted to assisted

09 May 2023

Online

A webinar hosted by our Victoria Office in Melbourne. Exploring Maltese migration to Australia, and the changing perception toward Maltese immigrants.

A model stands next to a sheep showcasing her wool fashion dress.

Members

Colonial to couture

10 May 2023

Online

In celebration of Australian Fashion Week, join us online to explore Australia's fashionable past through records kept at National Archives of Australia.

Local CWA members at the demolition derby at the Kyogle Show in NSW. (Front:) Odette Nettleton; (back): Jackie Horder, Maggie May, Anne Kotz, 2016. Daily Telegraph, Photographer: Susanna Freymark

Event

High tea and the CWA

13 May 2023

Canberra

Join us for a high tea and hear how the Country Women’s Association has pushed for social change in Australia.

Ballarat Post Office staff in front of the Ballarat Telegraph building with their delivery bicycles.

Event

Finding places

15 May 2023

Online

A webinar showcasing some of the many items in the national archival collection which document local history and heritage including building plans and drawings, photographs other records.

A still from the film Caddie.

Event

Caddie film screening

20 May 2023

Canberra

Join us for a screening of the Australian film, Caddie. Explore its impact and ongoing relevance in our exhibition Disrupt, persist, invent.

Men leaning against and sitting on a locomotive.

Event

More than locomotives

23 May 2023

Adelaide

An exploration of recently digitised photographs in the national archival collection relating to the Commonwealth Railways.

Kanowna was one of the Goldfields regions busiest settlements during the late 1800s.

Event

Raising ghosts

25 May 2023

Perth

What does Western Australia's State Archives reveal about ghost towns?

Indigenous voices in the Constitution.

Members

Seeking to be heard

31 May 2023

Canberra

In celebration of National Reconciliation Week, join us for an exclusive members tour of our permanent exhibition 'Voices / Dhuniai'.

Housing - Hotels, motels and hostels - Gwalia State Hotel - naa: A6135, K1/6/76/14

Members

Boom to bust

06 Jun 2023

Online

A rundown pub and empty streets are sometimes all that is left of once thriving settlements.