About missions, reserves and stations 

Missions, reserves and stations were government and church-led settlements in Australia that were designed to control and assimilate First Nations peoples in the 19th and 20th centuries.  

• Missions – usually created by churches or religious individuals, designed to provide housing, basic education and to enforce assimilation including conversation to Christianity.
• Reserves – government-designated parcels of land where Aboriginal people were relocated from their traditional lands. On unmanaged reserves, residents might receive some necessities but often remained responsible for their own housing and were subjected to strict rules and close monitoring.  
• Stations – land that was managed by government appointed officials where Aboriginal people lived. Stations managers held significant power over who could and could not reside on the land and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives.  

What you can find in the Library 

You will find valuable material on the missions and reserves around Australia in our collection.

Books

This includes guides, histories and the biographies and autobiographies of Indigenous people, including those who lived on missions, reserves, and at children's homes; and of the people who worked in these places.

Featured books

• Aboriginal reserves in N.S.W., land rights research aid: a listing from archival material of former Aboriginal reserves together with information required to access them by A McGuigan is a comprehensive listing of Aboriginal reserves established in NSW detailing when they started and/or closed.
• The mish by Robert Lowe is a moving autobiography of his childhood experiences on Framlingham Aboriginal Mission, Victoria. 

Manuscripts 

Our collection includes manuscripts such as the personal papers, diaries, letters, photos, logbooks of select Aboriginal missions and notes of anthropologists, historians and others working with Indigenous people.

Manuscripts may provide information about First Nations communities, families, individuals, languages and customs. They can also include photographs and oral histories.

Some manuscripts require permission for viewing from the donor or from First Nations communities who may hold Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property rights.  

Learn more about our collections of mission records.

Newspapers

Newspapers and press clippings relating to various missions and reserves dating from 1960 to 1992. Please ask library staff for access to press clippings.

Archives and publications

Select missions have produced newsletters and publications. If you know the name of the mission or church, you can search for these in our catalogue.

Original mission records

This includes items like logs, photos, journals and letters.

Oral history

The Bringing Them Home Project is a collection of interviews relating to individuals involved or affected by the Australian Government’s child removal policies practices. 

How to search and find items 

Search the catalogue

Search the name of missions, reserves and locations in the catalogue. 

Learn more about how to use the catalogue

Search the catalogue now

Keyword search  

Use a quick keyword search in the catalogue using the places, family names or people your family is connected to. 

For example:

• Yarrabah Mission
• North-West Aboriginal Reserve

If you get too many results, you can:

• add title, author, subject or AIATSIS subject limits on your search, or
• click into the catalogue full results and use the Limit Your Results options (at the right of the search results page) to display only the items of interest, for example, manuscripts or oral histories.

If you need to widen your search, try searching subject headings. You can search by subject directly in the catalogue (selecting subject in the drop down), or by opening an item’s catalogue record and clicking on the subject headings to find other material related to that subject.

For example:

• Aboriginal Australians -- Missions
• Aboriginal Australians -- Reservations

Author search

You can also search by author where a governing body has published the material.

For example:

• South Australian Museum. Aboriginal Family History Project
• Northern Territory Administration. Welfare Branch

Where else to look

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) guide  

Visit the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) guide to mission and reserve records to find mission and reserve records by state and territory, along with advice on locating relevant records. Aboriginal mission and reserve records often contain information on individuals and families.  

To search, determine if the mission was government or church-run, and then contact the appropriate state records office listed below.  

Commonwealth, state, and territory archives

• National Archives of Australia
• State Archives and Records NSW
• Libraries & Archives Northern Territory
• Queensland State Archives
• State Records of South Australia
• Libraries Tasmania
• Public Record Office Victoria
• State Records Office of Western Australia

Find and Connect

Find and Connect is an online part of a nationwide program that provides counselling and assistance to people who spent time in care as children between 1920 and 1990. This resource can help you locate records from children's homes and institutions. While it doesn't provide personal records, it can guide you to where they are held, often in church archives.  

Finding your story

Aboriginal Affairs Victoria, Public Record Office Victoria and the Victorian Koorie Records Taskforce has created the Finding your story guide to help Aboriginal people who have been removed from their families to locate relevant records. It's particularly useful for those from Victoria.  

Get help with your research

Our librarians can offer some tips, help you locate resources and point you in the right direction but we are not able to undertake extensive family history research on your behalf.

You can use our Ask a Librarian service to access assistance, ask us specific questions and provide us with information you have already gathered, such as: a family tree, any family papers and photos, or family history notes.

Our Indigenous Engagement team may also be able to offer general guidance and support to First Nations researchers.  

Ask a Librarian