The Records of the National Union of Australian University Students/Australian Union of Students is one of the Library’s largest manuscript collections, with over 1,000 boxes of material occupying 190 metres of shelf space. This significant collection largely dates from the late 1930s to the 1980s, and features correspondence, constitutional records, policy statements, council minutes, conference papers, memoranda, reports, newsletters, posters, badges, photographs and more. This vast array of material provides valuable insight into over 50 years of student politics and the key issues of the period, both in Australia and overseas.

With the generous support of NUAUS/AUS alumni, the finding aid has recently been enhanced to describe and improve access to this rich collection.  

What was the National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS) / Australian Union of Students (AUS)? 

The National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS) began in 1937 as a peak body of student representation and activism. The NUAUS was made up of constituent members from affiliated campuses, organised by state, and was initially run by volunteers before shifting to paid staff in the early 1960s. In December 1970, the NUAUS became the Australian Union of Students (AUS), incorporating student unions from colleges of advanced education. During this time the Union began seeking a home for its records, and in 1970 the first instalment of the archive was transferred to the Library, with additional instalments received as recently as 2024.

Many of the Union’s officers and volunteers later become prominent members of Australian civil society, including politicians, public servants, members of the judiciary, academics, and key figures in the arts, science and technology.  

This long history, and a dedicated cohort of record-keepers, has resulted in a rich, deep and diverse collection, with much to offer for research. 

Activism 

From its inception, the Union was at the forefront of political and social movements, boldly advocating in areas such as free access to education, student housing reforms, national service, the women's liberation movement, First Nations rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, multiculturalism, and the environment.  

An early and ongoing priority for the Union was improving access to and the quality of education. The collection features substantial documentation of lobbying on a range of issues relating to education policy, including free education, improvements to student health and welfare, cheaper student travel – including the genesis of what became STA Travel – and better teacher training and salaries.  

The Union played a leading role in the support for the rights and recognition of First Nations peoples, both in Australia and overseas. There is a rich variety of material relating to Abschol, a program set up by the Union to support university scholarships for Aboriginal students, with early recipients including Dr Margaret Williams Weir, Irwin Lewis, and Dr Charles Perkins AO. The program evolved into broader activism for issues affecting First Nations communities, such as the 1967 referendum for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The group was also active in support of land rights, such as the Gurindji people’s campaign for ownership of Daguragu (Wattie Creek) in the late 1960s. The collection also documents the Union’s work towards challenging racism and apartheid. 

Events and activities 

The Union regularly staged cultural events and activities, including art festivals, around Australia. In 1967 the first Australian Universities Arts Festival was held in Sydney, followed by Melbourne in 1969 and Canberra in 1971. The fourth and most famous Festival was held in Nimbin, New South Wales in 1973. Known as the Aquarius Festival, this groundbreaking counter-cultural arts and music festival permanently reshaped the economy and landscape of Nimbin itself, and was a foundational event for the Australian hippie movement. The Festival included a Welcome to Country ceremony and was one of the first of such events to engage with the local Indigenous community, in this case, the Bundjalung people, to seek permission for the event. 

Explore this history through the records 

The mission, administration and history of the Union itself is well-documented in the collection, from the first NUAUS Executive Council meeting in January 1938, through to the winding up of the AUS in 1984. The extensive administrative files reveal the internal workings of the Union and the group’s influences, activities and achievements. They also illustrate the evolution of the tertiary education sector over that time, and the context of the wider social and political landscape.

A complementary oral history project also provides fascinating insight into the lives of key members of the Union.

Collectively, this material encapsulates the history of Australia’s active and energetic student movements and showcases the dramatic changes in Australian society from the interwar period through to the 1980s.