Fifty years on, see how the destruction and impact of Cyclone Tracy in Darwin 1974 is captured in our collection. 

Explore the Prout Collection, featuring 2 oil paintings, 41 watercolours, and 38 pencil and wash drawings by John Skinner Prout, created between 1841 and 1848. This collection showcases stunning Tasmanian landscapes, including scenes of Hobart, Mount Wellington, and Port Arthur, alongside views of New South Wales and Victoria. Prout, a self-trained artist who emigrated to Australia in 1840, captured the essence of the Australian landscape, leaving a lasting influence on colonial art.

National Library of Australia

We hold 200,000+ Australian topographic maps from 1900 onward. This guide helps you find current and historical maps at various scales in our collection.

Use this guide to help find and access our series of aerial photographs of Australian states and territories, collected between 1928 and 1988.

A large collection of glass negatives, papers and photographs dating mostly from 1904 to 1940 depicting many aspects of Australian life and architecture.

Peter Crowley

In 1908 the Commonwealth Parliament passed the Seat of Government Act 1908, designating the Yass-Queanbeyan area for Australia's Capital Territory.

Discover early family histories of the Canberra region while learning about how you too can explore your town and put your family history puzzle back together.

Drawings, sketches, plans and photographs of Australian colonial architecture, ancient buildings from China and Greece, furnature designs and sketches for a proposed "ideal city" of Kurrajong.

Papers, maps, plans, photographs, paintings and other material related to early Canberra and the work of architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin.

Personal papers of Norman Ellison, pictures, books and other other manuscripts relating to aviation and early aviators.