Histories
Australian records and archives
LGBTIQ community history projects and archives are good way to get a fuller idea of life for LGBTIQ people than the glimpses provided by legal, health and other public records.
The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives (established in 1978) is the biggest repository of historical materials about lesbian and gay experience in Australia and the most prominent research centre for LGBTIQ history in Australia.
- Australian Queer ArchivesExplore the collection before organising to visit.
- Victorian CollectionsMany items from AQuA relevant to Victoria have been digitised and are available through Victorian Collections.
- Library ThingExplore some of the books in AQuA's collection.
- ISSUUCurated online collections on specific topics from ALGA are available as "scrapbooks".
Banner for Gay Pride Week, unknown designer, c. 1973.
Source: Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives (used with permission).
- Sydney's Pride History GroupA community history group which collects information about Sydney's LGBTIQ past. Includes many oral histories.
- Call Me By My Name ProjectA Trans Oral History Podcast from Melbourne, Australia.
University of Melbourne Archives
- Homosexuality and the University of Melbourne subject guideContext about the University of Melbourne's archival collections related to homosexuality. Prepared by Graham Willett and Kathy Sport.
- Victorian Women’s Liberation and Lesbian Feminist Archives IncFind out about the organisation and their collection which is hosted by the University of Melbourne Archives.
- Victorian Women's Liberation and Lesbian Feminist Archives (University of Melbourne)Access this archival collection via the University of Melbourne Archives.
- Germaine Greer Archivesdocuments Greer’s work as an academic, a film, TV and theatre performer, a writer, and an environmentalist; and her personal relationships with friends, lovers, family, colleagues, students and fans. Mainly documenting the period 1959-2010.
Access the University of Melbourne Archives
Not all records are online, but they have a lot of finding aids and research guides online which will help you plan your visit.
Given the way they are organised browsing is often most useful way to find them and will also help you identify key people, organisations and contexts.
Browse by Creator's Name and a particular letter - for example: L for lesbian groups, G for gay groups, W for women's groups.
Select 'View Creator Records'
Browse Creator's activity or occupation and select a relevant activity or occupation - for example: Women's rights activists.
Select View Creators
Browse list of creators (including individuals and organisations) and select View Creator Records once you have found one you are interested in.
Other women's and feminist archives
- The Australian Women's RegisterAccess a rich and growing source of information about Australian women and their organisations.
- The encyclopedia of women and leadership in twentieth-century AustraliaA resource for anyone interested in the history of women and leadership in twentieth-century Australia.
- Queen Victoria Women's Centre ArchivesIncludes items generated by QVWC and external organisations which pertain to:
• QVWC office;
• The QVWC Trust;
• Resident/tenanted organisations while in the building; and
• The building and site itself - Jessie Street National Women's LibraryWhile not a lot is available online yet, it is useful to learn about this organisation and it's role in collecting, preserving and promoting the awareness of the cultural heritage of Australian women, facilitating learning, research and communication.
Records of women and lesbian, gay, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people have historically been more difficult to find (if they exist at all) in cultural heritage institutions, so you have to dig deeper in the archives and may not find a great deal.
- Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV)Access the PROV collection.
Divorce records
Criminal/Court records
Prison records
Asylum records
Health
Education - National Archives of AustraliaRecords of defence/war, migration and citizenship, and security and intelligence.
- Jessie Street by Lenore ColtheartAn example demonstrating how records from the National Archives of Australia have been used to create a biography of Jessie Street, lobbyist, government official and international activist.
- Australian Historic Records Register AHRRAHRR is a list of paper based records held in Australia dating from settlement to 1988. Includes letters, diaries, photographs, financial records, posters, sketches, recipe books, catalogues. Provides an insight into life in Australia from settlement to 1988.
- Expert help guide to Australian archival researchFurther help on finding public records.
- Department of Health and Human Services (Victorian Collections)The Department of Health and Human Services and its predecessor agencies have records dating back to 1860's. This collection of photographs shows the activities of the Mobile School Dental Service, Mobile Health Van (including Polio and Tuberculosis clinics) and the Ambulance Service.
Australian special collections
- Archives of human sexuality and identity: LGBTQ history and culture since 1940Access many historical resources, including Australian and New Zealand publications such as Gayzette, GLP! A journal of sexual politics, and Pink Triangle and material from ACT UP, the International HIV/AIDS Crisis Part 1: 1985-1999, Lesbian Herstory Archives and Sexual politics in Britain.
Source: La Trobe University Gay Society. 1984. MS International Vertical Files from the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives ID: 8197. Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. Archives of Sexuality & Gender, http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/5WsAJ4. Accessed 14 Dec. 2017.
- Politcal ephemera collectionExplore the State Library of Victoria's Riley & Ephemera Collection, which contains political ephemera and was started by trade unionist and politician Fred Riley. It includes: handbills, flyers, leaflets, posters, badges and stickers from various Victorian political and community organisations.
- Bohemian MelbourneAn online exhibition by the State Library of Victoria that highlights Melbourne's bohemian history.
- Women's rights resourcesA gateway to the State Library of Victoria's collection related to women's rights campaigns. Get ideas for key words, phrases, places and people to look up in newspaper and other archives.
- Museum Victoria CollectionsAccess this gateway to Museum Victoria's collections and discover even more items than those they have on physical display.
- Museum Victoria - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Project, Museum Victoria, 2005-2006Find out about this project and explore the collection curated by Kate Davison.
- Agents of Social Change? LGBT voices in Australian museums by Kate DavisonFind out how museums can be agents of social change by facilitating access to LGBT history in Australia.
- National Film and Sound ArchiveSearch the collection of films, images, interviews and sound recordings.
- National Film and Sound Archive - Gaywaves collectionAccess audio records from Gaywaves was Sydney’s first gay and lesbian radio program. It was considered groundbreaking when it went to air in November 1979, at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in New South Wales.
- National Film and Sound Archive - Prisoner collectionAccess clips from the show and behind the scenes, as well as interviews with actors.
- Australian ScreenAccess clips, curators' notes and other information related to many Australian film and television titles. For extra help, go to the Education page to access education resources produced by The Le@rning Federation.
Reason In Revolt: Source Documents of Australian Radicalism
- Peace movementsPeace movements - Anti-fascist and Second World War
Vietnam War (1961 - 1975)
Conscription - criticism, 1950-present
Peace movements - First World War and earlier
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) archives and special collections
- Digital Transgender ArchiveThe Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) aims to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world.
- Archives of human sexuality and identity: LGBTQ history and culture since 1940Access many historical resources, including Australian and New Zealand publications such as Gayzette, GLP! A journal of sexual politics, and Pink Triangle and material from ACT UP, the International HIV/AIDS Crisis Part 1: 1985-1999, Lesbian Herstory Archives and Sexual politics in Britain.
- LGBT Thought and Culture collectionAccess key works and archival documentation of LGBT political and social movements throughout the 20th century and into the present day.
- GLBTQ Archive projectThis project was founded in 2000 by Publisher Wik Wikholm to create the world's largest online encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, arts, literature, social sciences and history. It also contains interviews and essays.
- Herstories (Audio-visual collections)Access audio-visual collections from the Lesbian Herstory Archives.
- PrideNZ.comAccess this online community resource of over 700 audio interviews and event recordings documenting rainbow culture in Aotearoa New Zealand. Subjects range from coming out to transitioning; from remembering what it was like to grow up in the 1950s to being at school in a Queer Straight Alliance today.
- Defining Gender, 1450-1910 (Adam Matthew)Defining Gender provides access to a vast body of British source material that will enrich the teaching and research experience of those studying history, literature, sociology and education from a gendered perspective.
