First Australians

Rebecca Bateman, holding the NLA Publication, Wangka Wakanutja, in the National Library of Australia

Rebecca Bateman, and NLA Publication, Wangka Wakanutja.

Learn with the Curators of Wangka Wakaṉutja

We learnt from experts who have brought the Wangka Wakanutja exhibition to life.

Event

Rebecca Bateman, and NLA Publication, Wangka Wakanutja.

Learn with the Curators of Wangka Wakaṉutja

Discover the decades-long, remarkable efforts of the Papunya community to record language and culture and keep it alive.

Learning activity for adults

Video

Adam Ford, Jilda Andrews, Lucy Hannan, Phyllis Williams and Rebecca Bateman

Lunchtime yarn: ICIP across the National Cultural sector

Staff from across Canberra’s National Cultural Institutions shared their experiences working with Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights.

Event

Video

An illustrated book cover with 3 kangaroos and 3 emus in the foreground surrounded by native flora, with a lake and trees in the background

Joseph Lycett, Views in Australia, or, New South Wales & Van Diemen's Land delineated, in fifty views with descriptive letter press, dedicated by permission to the Right Honble. Earl Bathurst, 1824, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1022559244

Lycett Collection

An album with 20 watercolours and 22 individual watercolours by Joseph Lycett. Most of the pieces focus on studies of Aboriginal people and drawings of native plants.

Collection guide

First Australians

Mabo Collection

Personal papers and legal material that record of one of the most important and controversial legal cases in Australian history and the life of the man who is chiefly associated with the case.

Collection guide

First Australians

Four framed pictures hanging on a wall that has an image of an island on it.

Mabo v Queensland (No. 2): 30th Anniversary

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Mabo decision, the Library invited Gail Mabo, Eddie’s daughter, to select material for display to mark this landmark moment in Australian legal history.

Exhibition

First Australians

McHugh Collection

Recordings of interviews made by Siobhán McHugh while producing various series for the ABC and also when working on her book Minefields and Miniskirts, together with papers and manuscripts.

Collection guide

Map of eastern Australia noting where there are organised churches, mission centres and outstations

Aborigines Inland Mission of Australia, A.I.M. field map, 1972, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2848085500

Missions and reserves records

Searching the administrative records of the missions and reserves can help you fill important gaps in your family history.

Research guide

A detailed historical map of Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, depicting early settlement areas, marked camps, and referenced landmarks such as gardens and marine camps. Includes a list of ship names from the First Fleet and geographical details.

Francis Fowkes, Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, in the County of Cumberland, 1789, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230578175

Nan Kivell Collection

About 5,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals, over 11,000 paintings, drawings and prints, around 800 maps and over 300 manuscripts mostly published 1770–1900. Largely relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific including Antarctica.

Collection guide

First Australians

An oval shaped bronze medal. The oval is made of a belt buckled at the bottom. At the top is a stylised royal crown. In the centre of the oval is a monogram made up of an intertwined "V.A." Behind the monogram is pattered red glass. Around the oval in raised letters are the words 'For gallantry in saving life on land'. The medal is held by a ribbon of red and white vertical stripes

Albert Medal presented to Aya-I-Ga, also known as Neighbour, for gallantry, 1911 [realia], 1912, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139608611

Neighbour and his bravery

Topic

Aya-I-Ga, known as Neighbour, risked everything to save a life and became one of Australia’s bravest heroes.

Digital Classroom

First Australians

Petherick Collection

About 15,000 books and pamphlets. The great strength of the collection is in Pacific voyages and early Australiana with many very rare items. Also manuscripts including papers of Joseph Banks, maps and pictures.

Collection guide

First Australians

Close up of a young boy's hands shucking a bunya nut

Daniel Fewquandie, Young boy shucking a bunya nut at Bunya Dreaming, Landsborough, Queensland, 31 January, 2026, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-4180541438

Photographing Australian food culture: Bunya Dreaming

Browse our new photos of the 2026 Bunya Dreaming festival on the Sunshine Coast.

News article

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