Listing of immigrant diaries (1822-1895) held in the Manuscripts Collection

Our Oral History collection includes recordings of original and traditional compositions performed by migrants, refugees and their descendants.

Special guests held a conversation about their own stories around migration, and how our country can best recognise the extraordinary contribution of migrants to contemporary Australia.

Explore the journeys that have shaped our nation’s history in this exhibition.

Learn about our Enlighten 2024 illuminations and find your home at your National Library.

Personal papers and about 600 books and pamphlets from 1900-1960 on international relations, political biography, migration and more with a focus on the Commonwealth and United States. 

Explore some of the recent additions to the collection representing the contribution of Australians with Chinese heritage.

Follow the story of Lorenzo Gamboa and his fight to return to his Australian-born wife and children after his deportation in 1946. 

The National Library conducted an oral history project to record the lives and experiences of Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants.

Using the Library’s English and Chinese language material, Dr Yao-Tai Li set out to examine the daily experiences of Chinese migrants since the 1970s.

Our Special Collections Research & Support team are back with answers to more common questions that can help can uncover your ancestors' migration story.

Our Special Collections Research & Support team have answered common questions that can help can uncover your ancestor’s migration story.