Collections

On 14 October 2023, Australians voted in a referendum about whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. This collection documents polling places, signage, posters, and volunteers and voters in various places throughout the Sydney metropolitan area and Western suburbs, New South Wales, including the suburbs of Burwood, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Leichhardt, Lidcombe, Redfern, and Ultimo.

Collection of photographs documenting the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne, Victoria, 7 October 2023. Supporting the rally were Senator Lidia Thorpe, Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman and independent Victorian Senator representing the Blak Sovereign Movement, and Krauatungalung (Gunai)/ Gunditjmara man Robbie Thorpe. First Nations activists and supporters hosted rallies in Naarm/Melbourne, Boorloo/Perth, Meanjin/Brisbane, and Kaurna/Adelaide. The rallies were calling on governments to implement all recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC). More than 500 Indigenous people have died in custody since the Royal Commission brought down its findings in 1991.

Cultural Sensitivity Advisory Notice: Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other First Nations people are advised that this collection may contain the names and images of deceased people and other content that may be culturally sensitive.

This collection comprises material collected by Somerville relating to individuals and organisations active in the pacifist movement in Australia in 1940-1974. There are circulars, pamphlets and newsletters printed by organisations such as the Christian Pacifist Movement of Victoria, the Central Committee of Conscientious Objectors, the Association for International Co-operation and Disarmament (NSW) and the Peace News Limited. Correspondence between Somerville and significant Australians like H. V. Evatt related to conscientious objectors such as Leslie Warren Hoey, Lloyd Butler and Bill Tarry.

Collection of photographs documenting a pro-Palestine rally in Brisbane, Queensland in 2023. Images show protesters marching with signs, banners and flags in support of Palestine and also reflects the diverse crowd and multicultural fabric of Brisbane. Thousands of people gathered in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide for pro-Palestine rallies.

This collection comprises newspaper articles, reports, publications, correspondence, research and notes relating to Hazel Busby's appeal for workers compensation for the 1971 death of her husband, Keith Busby. Keith Busby was a RAAF pilot who was exposed to the radioactive area of Maralinga after the Buffalo 1 atomic test in the 1950s.

This collection comprises letters dating from 1985-1988 from Norman Wood to Peter Solness, following Solness' visit to Paraguay to document the survivors and descendants of the New Australia Colony, a socialist utopian settlement established by William Lane in 1893-1894. The letters describe Wood's life and his reflections on Paraguay, as well as discussing the correspondence he received from Australians after Solness published an article about the Colony.

This collection primarily comprises material created and maintained by Anna Reynolds during her time as founder and coordinator of the Climate Action Network Australia (CANA), 1998-2001. CANA is "... a network of organisations working together to protect people from climate change and its impacts, to safeguard our natural environment, and to build a fairer and healthier Australia". The collection includes conference programs, reports, correspondence, budget and funding files, website content, files relating to the World Wildlife Fund, media releases, planning and briefing documentation, subject files, tax campaigns, CANA directories, presentations, submissions and meeting files.

The collection comprises the only known copies of the first press release issued in Australia by an LGBTIQ+ organisation, the only copies of a considerable number of newsletters of the Daughters of Bilitis, as well as minutes from the Daughters of Bilitis meetings.

This collection comprises material relating the 1999 referendum on an Australian republic, and includes background papers, correspondence and speeches.