Oceania | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Oceania

Showing 1 - 12 of 21 results
A sample of an emigration pass. It says 'Colonial Emigration Form, Man's Emigration Pass' with signatures and handwritten information.
Indian emigration passes to Fiji 1879 - 1916

Find out how to access over 60,000 passes issued to Indian people who came to Fiji as indentured labourers.

Research guide
Collection guide
South Pacific Commission

The microfilm collection includes 78 manuscripts copied by the South Pacific Commission, created by missionaries, anthropologists, and linguists between 1900 and 1956. 

Collection guide
Map of Antarctica showing territories and dependencies.

Australia. Department of the Interior. Property and Survey Branch. & E. P. Bayliss, J. S. & Cumpston, Antarctica, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-236895938

Australian explorations in the Antarctic

Diaries, papers, photographs, maps and other material related to Australia's involvement in the Antarctic

Collection guide
Whats On Dr Christina Thompson Fellowships

Part of Letter of Pomare II, King of Tahiti, 1806 (detail), nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1813553

Palapala: a story of reading, writing, and books with Dr Christina Thompson

Dr Christina Thompson presented a lecture on her 2023 Creative Arts Fellowship research into what happened when writing arrived on the islands of the Pacific.

Event
Video
painting of a ship in the background on the ocean and palm trees on an island in the foreground

George Gordon McCrae, [Sailing ship near Pacific island], nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139352101

Pacific research guide

The Library holds a rich and diverse range of documentary materials relating to the Pacific region, including Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and New Zealand.

Research guide
Epi dance group

Epi (Vanuatu) cultural dance group performing at Saralana Park, 27 July 2023. Photograph courtesy of Melanesian Arts & Culture Festival 2023

Visiting Vanuatu and the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival 2023

Library staff recently attended the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival (MACFEST), returning with new acquisitions, knowledge and connections.

Blog
Four Fijian women of various ages wearing dresses smiling and embracing

Sabrina Lauriston, Dance teacher Natalie Toms with dancers (left to right) Tia N, Leilani Qereqeretabua, Kasi K, Fiji Day celebrations, Bundaberg, Queensland, 8 October 2022, nla.obj-3123461696

Collecting with Fijian Australians at the National Library

Explore records of Fijian Australian life with items recently added to our collection.

Blog
2021 National Library of Australia Fellow Dr Anna Dziedzic
Early constitutions: A new wave of governance

Hear from Dr Anna Dziedzic about her experience as a 2021 National Library Fellow and her research about the movement of constitution texts and ideas across Oceania.

Blog
A group of men performing a traditional dance

Terence & Margaret Spencer, Independence Day Celebration (15) Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 1975, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-145645567

Pacific collections

The National Library holds a rich and diverse range of library materials on the Pacific region, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Information article
A colourful watercolour showing the mountainous coastline of Tahiti. The mountains are shades of grey, blue and purple. The sky has billowing clouds.The shore is dotted with vegetation. In the foreground, two figures row a long canoe along the coast. The canoe is carrying something, although it's unclear what it is.

Nicholas Chevalier, (1868), Otaheite [i.e. Tahiti], nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134623111

Polynesian expansion across the Pacific (c.700-1756)

Module

This resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: History for Year 8 students. It adopts an inquiry learning approach that develops students’ skills in investigating Asia-Pacific societies in depth.

Digital Classroom
History of AJCP

Sara Joynes, Graeme Powell and Margaret Phillips, AJCP Project Team, 15 January 1992.

Australian Joint Copying Project research guide

The Australian Joint Copying Project is a collection of historical material relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific dating from 1560 to 1984.

Research guide
joint copying TNA perpetual motion claims

TNA RGO/42, Perpetual motion claims: quadrature of the circle etc, 1787-1825, Board of Longitude, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-862000989/view

Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP)

The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) is a collection of unique historical material relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific dating from 1560 to 1984. 

Information article

Need help?

Our librarians are here to guide you.

Ask a librarian