Discover the legacy of Dame Nellie Melba, one of opera’s greatest voices, through her unique collection. Featuring sheet music, personal letters, and rare items from her iconic career, this collection offers an intimate glimpse into her rise from Australian talent to international soprano. Explore her artistry, personal connections, and lasting impact on the world of opera.

Tripitakas, books and audio recordings dealing with Buddhist history, biography, literature, doctrines, philosophy and way of life and Buddhist folk tales.

Hear from Dr Jo Langdon about her research and experience as a 2024 Creative Arts Fellow.

Take flight with some of the prominent aviation families in the collection.

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Housed in a blue-bound folder, in a collection at the National Library of Australia, is a fragment of blue fabric that represents the pursuit of Australian democracy. The folder contains a portion of the Eureka Flag flown at Ballarat, Victoria, during the 1854 Eureka Rebellion. The folder also houses an accompanying explanatory letter dated 13/1/1912 from Fred (F.J.) Riley to his father, Fred Riley.

Join Madeline and Allister as they dive into our collection and discover items from the '90s and '00s.

The National Library has a large collection of sculptures built into and around the building, and beautiful tapestries hanging in our foyer.

The Main Reading Room houses a collection of sculptures and paintings inspired by Indigenous stories of the Australian landscape.

The Special Collections Reading Room houses art relating to Australian history and culture in the post-colonial era, focusing on modern Australian people and places.

Our James Cook collection showcases the Library’s most famous item - Cook’s HMS Endeavour journal.

The Crome Collection includes papers, photographs, ephemera, aero-philatelic material, objects, books and pamphlets relating to Australian aviation collected by Ernest Alfred Crome.