Protest and dissent

In our collection

Protest and dissent have been a part of Australia’s history since the arrival of the First Fleet. They have shaped many important social and cultural changes within this nation and continue to do so to this day.

Two demonstrators stand on a structure at Parliament House, Canberra, raising their arms in the air beside an Australian Coat of Arms sculpture. A large peace flag is draped over the emblem. The black-and-white image captures the scene from below, with a cloudy sky in the background.

Sean Davey, Demonstrators drape a peace flag over the Coat of Arms, Iraq War protest, Great Verandah, Parliament House, Canberra, 2003, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147381669

Key topics

Our research guides will help you find and access resources and provide helpful search tips on specific subjects, movements and topics related to protest and dissent in Australia.

Vincent Lingiari addresses a crowd at a microphone while Gough Whitlam stands beside him. Several people are visible in the background, observing.

Penny Tweedie & Australian Information Service, Elder Vincent Lingiari of the Gurindji Language group, addressing the media after Prime Minister Gough Whitlam officially returns Aboriginal land at Wattie Creek, Northern Territory, 16 August 1975, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138156433

Workers rights movement

Find information about the Eureka Stockade, the formation of trade unions, the Cummeragunja Walk-off, the Pilbara Strike and the Gurindji Strike/Wave Hill Walk Off.

Leigh Henningham, Protester holding a placard that reads, Our Future is in Your Hands, during the School Strike 4 Climate rally, Melbourne, 21 May 2021, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2956718607

Environmental protests

Dive into our collection about Australia's climate action protests, anti-mining protests and the Franklin Dam blockade.

A group of four people who are very colourfully dressed, holding signs in a park. There are more groups of colourful people in the background.

Jiayuan Liang, The LGBTIQA+ communities assemble at Light Square before at the Pride March, Adelaide, 5 November, 2022, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3144558245

Gender and sexuality protests

The long and ongoing fight for rights and equality for women and LGBTQIA+ communities is increasingly well-documented in our collections.

A large field filled with colorful heart-shaped signs, some with messages and images, displayed on the grass. Old Parliament House is visible in the background.

Loui Seselja, View over the field of hearts display, with old Parliament House in background, United Nations World Refugee Day and Field of Hearts event, Canberra, 2004, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-130943483

Civil rights movements

Find and access resources in our collection about the Aboriginal Day of Mourning, the Freedom Ride, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy protest, the Cronulla Riots and the Black Lives Matter protests.

Young man, maybe late teens, wearing a grey shirt with a 'Friends of the Earth' armband wearing a gas mask

Soc Hedditch, A youth wearing a gas mask and a Friends of the Earth armband demonstrates against French nuclear testing in the Pacific, Adelaide 1972, nla.obj-146561887

Anti-war protests

Discover collections about the Nuclear Disarmament movement, Vietnam War and Iraq War protests in Australia.

How to search and find items

These tips will help you search for and access material from our collections.

Search the catalogue

Use keywords or search by title, author or subject.

Learn more about how to use the catalogue.

Search the catalogue now

If you are searching more broadly on the topic, start by using subject headings like:

For a specific search, start simple and choose a few distinctive words. Use words that relate to the event you are researching.

Example: if you search “Ballarat 1854”, it will bring up results for the Eureka Stockade because this is where it took place.

Remember to make sure all words are spelt correctly, otherwise no results will appear.

Filter search results

Aminata Conteh-Biger, wearing a headscarf, stands at a podium with a raised fist, captured in black and white. Cameras and microphones surround Aminata, capturing the scene.

Claire Williams & Aminata Maternal Foundation, Aminata Conteh-Biger addressing crowds at the Women's March4Justice rally, Canberra, 15 March 2021 nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2938835667

Narrow your results after your first initial word search, using the options on the right side (including format, E-resources, author, subject area, series or decade). Some of the best results come from a simple word search with one option applied to narrow results.

Example: this search for “Vietnam War” where we selected Format > Pictures to limit the search.

Browse by subject

When you find a result that you like, find the subject headings in the record and use them to find other materials on the same topic. You can select the subject heading of an item in the collection to find more items on that topic. They might be general, or very specific.

Some examples are:

Search Trove

You can use Trove to explore resources from our collections, as well as from other institutions including state and university libraries.

Go to Trove now

By category

You can use the Categories tab in Trove search to identify specific types of protest material. Archived newspapers are always useful, but you might want to look further afield to Images, Maps & Artefacts for visual records of protest.

Search the Web Archive

The Web Archive is an excellent place to find online records, news and websites for contemporary movements and protest, like:

There are also some archived websites from as early as 1996. Historical snapshots of websites can show you point-in-time information, like:

Use hashtags

When searching contemporary journal articles, news sources and archived websites for information about protest movements, slogans and hashtags can be an effective way to identify material. For example:

2011 Anti-Carbon Tax Rally, search ‘Convoy of No Confidence’
Gender equality rallies, search ‘March4Justice’
2021 anti-vaccine rallies in Australia, search #WewillALLbethere

Crowd of protesters holding signs with messages like 'Stand with Ukraine,' 'Stop Putin Now,' and 'I'm Russian and I stand with Ukraine.' People wear a mix of hats and sunglasses, with Ukrainian flags visible in the background.

Leigh Henningham, Crowds including pro-Ukrainian Russian protestors holding signs and marching at the protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Melbourne, Victoria, 27 February 2022, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3041480290

Where else to look

You can use also use Trove to discovery historical collections held by other libraries, galleries, archives and museums.

Many of Australia’s university libraries and archives also have online material or records of their physical collections. These often include records of student politics and campus protests. For example, the Melbourne University Archive includes records and links to resources from the the Malcolm Fraser collection, including materials relating to:

Get help with your research

Our specialist staff can help you with your research, to locate resources and to use our microfilm and scanning equipment but they cannot undertake extensive or ongoing genealogical, historical or other research on your behalf.

Find out more in our Information and Research Policy.

Ask a Librarian