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Professor John Maynard is a Worimi man from the Port Stephens region of New South Wales.

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Mark McKenna is one of Australia’s leading historians, based at the University of Sydney.

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James Cook’s famous Endeavour voyage was originally commissioned by the Royal Society of London as a scientific mission. When the Admiralty (Royal Navy) became aware that the Society was planning to commission a sea journey to the Southern Hemisphere to collect scientific data, its members saw an opportunity to become involved. However, their motivations were very different to those of the Royal Society.

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Preserved in the National Library of Australia’s Manuscripts Collection, along with Cook’s handwritten journal, are another set of instructions.

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The Khmer Empire has its beginnings somewhere in the late eighth century when Jayavarman II (c. 770–835) is said to have returned to Chenla from exile in Java.

View historical maps overlaid on a modern map.

The Library aims to collect all of our stories so Australians can understand our past, present and place in the world.

From 1911 until self-government in May 1989, the laws of the Australian Capital Territory were made by Acts of the federal Parliament or by ordinances made by the Governor-General. From 1974 to 1986 these ordinances were passed after consultation with the House of Assembly and Legislative Assembly.

The printed collections at the National Library contain substantial collections of older legislation in print, though these may not be complete sets. 

This guide will help you find information about Commonwealth and State/Territory law, both at the National Library and online.