History

Explore our history through the Library's unrivalled collections.

History

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18th Century and before

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19th Century

Splendid Species

by Margot Riley

The Library is delighted to announce the complete digitisation of its renowned "pattern" set of 681 folio-sized plates for  'The Birds of Australia' by John Gould. 

Image of penguins from Birds of Australia

Government House, Domain, Sydney

by Geoff Barker

By 1834, pressures on land in Sydney Cove compelled Governor Bourke to move Government House.

Government House, 1869, by Lieutenant-Colonel Trevor, State Library of New South Wales, PXA 974

Old Government House, Sydney Cove

by Geoff Barker

For 56 years almost every Governor lived in the house on the corner of Phillip and Bridge streets

Old Government House, 1836, J.G. Austin, hand coloured lithograph,

The cruise of 'The Freak'

by Geoff Barker

A missionary voyage through the Bass Strait, Tasmania.

Chappell Island, illustration by Rev. Brownrigg, Cruise of the Freak, 1872 , State Library of New South Wales

Australasian Photo Review

by Geoff Barker

 The longevity of the Australasian Photo-Review marks it as the most significant in terms of insights into the development of photography in Australia 1894 through to the last issue which appeared in December 1956. It is now available online.

Australian Photo Review Journal Covers

Hudson Brothers Building and Engineering Company

by Geoff Barker

In 1854, William Henry Hudson ran a small carpentry business from Regent Street, Redfern. 25 years later Hudson Brothers was one of Australia's biggest companies. 

Hudson Brothers Engineering works Clyde Sydney

Hudson Brothers Building and Engineering Company

The Garden Palace

Sydney’s Garden Palace was a magnificent building with a grandeur that dominated the skyline and captivated society from its opening in 1879. Three years later it was destroyed in a devastating fire.

20th Century onward

Dead Central: the Devonshire Street cemetery

by Elise Edmonds

Established in 1820, this cemetery became the final resting place for many Sydney-siders throughout the 19th century. The land was finally cleared in 1901 to make way for Sydney's new Central Station.

A black-and-white photograph depicting a smattering of gravestones in a grass field.

River dreams

by Ian Tyrrell

Bold plans to transform the Cooks River in Sydney are reflected in the Library's collection.

Arthur Moon, prisoner of war, 1943

by Geoff Barker

Records of life in a Japanese POW camp, buried in 1943.

Thailand, 1943-1945, S. Walker, watercolour, State Library of New South Wales, MLMSS 4234

Quick march! The children of World War I

by Elise Edmonds

To mark the centenary of the peace year, 1919, we take an intimate look at the lives of children during the ‘war to end all wars’.

A sepia photograph of a boy wearing an oversized army cap, standing and saluting.

Stories from our migrant and refugee communities

The interviews delve into the personal stories of recently arrived migrants and their new lives in New South Wales, starting from birth and childhood and covering the (often harrowing) reasons they were compelled to leave their homes and seek safety in another country.

A family posed for a photo in a park at sundown.

Working for the Weekend

by Ryan Cropp

Donald Horne’s unlikely editorship of the mass-market Weekend magazine was a crucial stage in the Lucky Country author’s development as a public intellectual.

An old magazine cover, featuring a woman wearing a swimsuit and a cone-shaped, bamboo hat and the headline: "Bigameist confesses 'I had six wives'".

Underground albums

by Vanessa Berry

The optimism of a city imagining its future is captured in photographs, plans and sketches.

vanessa barry