Personal papers of Patrick White, plus letters from White to other Australian writers acquired as part of their papers. Also papers of White's biographer David Marr and those of the artist and theatre designer Desmond Digby who had a long friendship with White.

Discover the Whelan Collection, a remarkable archive of Australian literature with over 1,000 autographed books, manuscripts, and letters from 1892 to 1967. Collected by bibliophile Philip Whelan, it offers a rare glimpse into Australia’s rich storytelling heritage and vibrant literary culture.

Get some winter book recommendations to suit all reading moods.

Around 500 titles by minor and obscure British poets of the nineteenth century, most having been published during the reign of Queen Victoria, but there are some earlier imprints extending back to 1801.

Learn about the research of 2024 National Library Scholar Zoe Smith and what she found during her time at the Library.

Dr Burcu Cevik-Compiegne presented a lecture on her 2024 National Library Fellowship research into uncovering different forms of life writing produced in Australia following the Labour Migration Scheme between Turkey and Australia in 1967.

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Henry Lawson is celebrated as one of Australia’s greatest poets. The Library’s collection of Henry Lawson realia helps contemporary Australians understand Lawson’s popularity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

Learn about Dr Christina Thompson's experience as a Creative Arts Fellow researching the introduction of writing in Polynesia.

Explore some of the speculative fiction reads in the collection and how they can help future generations understand society in the time they were written.

Dianne Wolfer, illustrated by Erica Wagner

Learn how to uncover facts and colour from historical documents, manuscripts, newspapers and more.

Edited by Chris Wallace