Collections

A bibliography of South Australia and Federation highlighting the development of our nation and South Australia's role in it.

The Bradman Collection is an extensive archival collection of items that Sir Donald Bradman donated to the State Library for safekeeping. Digital versions of the collection can be viewed online via a dedicated website, a Flickr album.

A research guide that provides a chronological bibliography of Catherine Helen Spence, a professional journalist, political candidate and a social and political reformer.

Showcasing selected items with a focus on South Australiana.

A timeline of South Australia's colonial history, from establishment, to settlement, through to Australian federation membership.

Celebrates Matthew Flinders' and Nicolas Baudin's expeditions searching the southern coast of Australia.

The State Library's collections include home movies dating back to the 1930s, silent films, documentary material, and feature films and television productions made in South Australia and by South Australians who have made careers throughout the world.

The State Library has a significant and developing amount of specialist material relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people including the Mountford-Sheard Collection.

Historian Geoff Manning’s subject index to South Australian newspapers 1837 to 1937 can sometimes find that elusive item which Trove has missed.

Get started on finding maps related to the history of South Australia.

The sea and waterways were vital to South Australia’s settlement and development. Explore immigration, trade, ports, riverboat history, shipbuilding, shipwrecks and rescues.

Providing access to a range of data sets which can be freely used and subject only to the requirement to attribute and share alike.

A selection of unique interviews by South Australians are available on the Digital Collections website. You can find more oral histories via the Catalogue, which are available when you visit us.

Dip into our huge collection of South Australian photographs of people, places and events, as well as artworks, post cards and posters.

Our Downstream website explores people, issues, places and events along the River Murray. Challenges and reactions to the river’s survival are also explored.

From Federation to the 21^st Century, these are the events that shaped South Australia, 1901 to 2001.

An online exhibition of South Australian history drawing on the Library’s incredible and unique archival and other heritage collections.

A list of catalogue references to South Australian sheet music within the library's collection.

View and pin images from across our collections.

‘The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies’ website which explores the dimensions of frontier conflict in colonial South Australia. Whilst the site does not offer a comprehensive picture of South Australia’s colonial experiences of the frontier, it is intended to provide a starting point for an ongoing process of reconciliation and truth-telling.

Within the collections of the State Library are thousands of stories of the sacrifices and contributions South Australians have made to international conflicts.

In the 100 year celebration of their prize-winning flight, we celebrate pioneer aviators Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith and their significant achievement which paved the way for postal and commercial flights to Australia.

The Bureau undertook research into over 8,000 enquiries from family and friends of missing Australian WW1 soldiers.

Strenuous work: the campaign for Women's Suffrage in South Australia is a series of three podcasts that looks at the campaign for women's suffrage in South Australia and subsequent involvement of women in Australian political life.

Showcasing the unique treasures of the State Library's collection.

The State Library has a Transcription Program which selects interesting or significant handwritten letters and diaries in our Archival Collection that are transcribed by a team of volunteers into electronic documents, which can be read as word-searchable PDFs. 

The State Library is involved with the PANDORA archive initiative by selecting and archiving online publications such as websites so that they can be preserved in a form that resembles the original as closely as possible.

The curated website celebrates the role of women in the social and political development of South Australia.