National Archives records about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are primarily about:
We hold many Northern Territory records because from 1911 until self-government in 1978, the Commonwealth administered the Territory. Northern Territory records are held in our Darwin and Canberra offices.
Our holdings on Victoria are large because the Victorian government handed the responsibility for Aboriginal affairs and associated records to the Commonwealth in 1975. Victorian records dating from 1860 are held in our Melbourne office.
We also have more recent records for all states because in 1967 the Constitution was amended to allow the Australian Government to legislate for all Aboriginal people.
Australian Government records held by the National Archives include a lot of information relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their histories.
The National Archives holds three main groups of records that are relevant to Indigenous people. They concern:
Until the 1967 referendum, the Australian Government could only make laws and implement policies and programs concerning Indigenous people in Commonwealth territories, not the states. (Read more about why in administrative history, below.)
This means that National Archives Aboriginal affairs records from before the 1970s only relate to Indigenous people in:
This Aboriginal affairs material includes welfare records similar to that held in other state archives and departments. There are, however, few case files in the Northern Territory for individual Aboriginal people.
There is material relating to Indigenous people in records about the administration of the Northern Territory. These records are held in either Canberra or Darwin and relate to a wide range of functions, including:
Indigenous people are referred to in other records relating to the activities of the Australian Government from Federation to today – although their Aboriginality is not always identifiable from the records.
Some parts of the National Archives collection that include more specific references to Indigenous people include material about:
Three important factors influenced the Australian Government's role in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs after Federation in 1901:
From Federation until 1967, the Australian Government could only make special laws for Aboriginal people in Commonwealth territories, primarily the Northern Territory from 1911. Aboriginal administration in the states was controlled by the state governments under various legislation.
A succession of departments was responsible for Northern Territory administration between 1911 and Territory self-government in 1978. Aboriginal affairs was one of a range of responsibilities held by these departments. The departments included:
In the 1967 referendum over 90% of voting Australians endorsed changes to sections of the Constitution that related specifically to Aboriginal people, s. 51(xxvi) and s. 127. The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967 formalised the referendum results.
These changes meant that for the first time the Australian Government could take the responsibility for Aboriginal affairs throughout Australia. From then and through the 1970s, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs have been the responsibility of:
You can search for records about Indigenous Australia in our collection database, RecordSearch. For general information about how to find records and use the database, see Research: A step-by-step guide.
Resources listed below highlight National Archives finding aids and publications that might help you in your search for records about Indigenous Australians and their history.
The National Archives has created an index of names that appear in records relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their history.
We created this index in response to the recommendations of Bringing Them Home, the report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, released in 1997.
The index can help Indigenous people find information about themselves, their families and their country. You can find our more about the index in Fact Sheet 175 – Bringing Them Home name index.
For more information about our records on Indigenous Australians, see the resources listed below.
Our fact sheets provide a quick introduction to a topic or group of records. They are a valuable starting point for your research.
View a list of fact sheets on Indigenous Australians.
National Archives research guides provide more detailed information on how to find and access records. They are available to view in our reading rooms and to purchase. Many can also be downloaded free from this website.
Tracking Family: A Guide to Aboriginal Records Relating to the Northern Territory aims to assist Indigenous people in accessing records to re-establish links with families and communities. It draws together information from a range of government and non-government agencies and identifies relevant records, their location and access conditions. The guide can be downloaded free or purchased online.
My Heart is Breaking introduces the Aboriginal records located in the Public Record Office of Victoria and our office in Melbourne. It lists more than 100 record series and includes a listing of personal case files which are of particular value to anyone doing genealogical research. The guide can be downloaded free or purchased online.
Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: The Royal Commission and its Records, 1987–1991 describes the records of the Royal Commission set up to investigate the causes of death of Aboriginal people in jail. Many of these records are available for public access through the National Archives. The guide can be downloaded free or purchased online.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: A Guide to Records in the Australian Archives – published in 1993, this guide can help in researching the records we have in Canberra. It gives details of the government agencies and people involved in Aboriginal administration, a list of records and a comprehensive index to names and places found in the records. The guide is out of print, but can be accessed in our reading rooms.
Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda: Appeal for Justice – the moving and dramatic story of Yolgnu elder, Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda, whose death sentence was commuted by the High Court in 1934.
Archival resources relating to Indigenous Australians helps promote and protect collections of value to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Part of the Archives of Australia network, this page provides annotated links to websites which provide information about archival resources relating to Indigenous Australians.
Finding Your Story, developed by the Victorian Koorie Records Taskforce in association with the Public Record Office of Victoria, is a reference tool for individual Indigenous Victorians seeking information on their separation from family.
Connecting Kin – Guide to Records is a guide to records published by the New South Wales Department of Community Services (DOCS). It can be downloaded from the DOCS website.
Finding Your Own Way, by historian and author Karen George in association with SA Link-Up, is a guide to help people access records of South Australian children's homes and institutions.
Looking West is a guide to Aboriginal records in Western Australia, published by the Records Taskforce of Western Australia.
Footprints: The Journey of Lucy and Percy Pepper tells the story of an Aboriginal family's struggle to stay together, in a time when laws and government policy defined who was 'Aboriginal' and who was not.
Between Two Worlds examines the separation of Aboriginal children of part descent from their families and their placement into two Northern Territory 'half-caste' institutions run by the Australian Government. It includes oral histories, documents and photographs and shows what happened to the children.