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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. 

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.

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

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.

Get some winter book recommendations to suit all reading moods.

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.

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.