This filmclip shows the launch of the first Australian-made satellite to orbit Earth in 1967, which made a substantial contribution to satellite and missile research. Its success made Australia the fourth nation in the world, after the Soviet Union, the United States and France, to build and launch a satellite from its own soil into orbit.

Built in less than a year, the 45-kilogram satellite was designed to measure solar radiation and the temperature and density of Earth’s upper atmosphere. This letter shows the lure of space exploration for one young Australian.

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The movie Balibo, about the shooting of five Australian journalists during Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975, is being released this month. Records about this event can be seen on our database RecordSearch by typing 'Balibo' as a keyword or through our fact sheet.

You can browse newspaper clippings and correspondence following this tragic event. The Archives Act 1983 gives you right of access to most Commonwealth government records that are over 30 years old.

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An extract from Justice Kirby’s ASIO file along with the wig of the first Chief Justice Sir Samuel Griffith, the benchbook belonging to Prime Minister Sir Edmund Barton and the Mabo decision on Indigenous land rights are part of the recently revamped High Court display, 
No Common Creation.

Launched by Chief Justice Robert French, this display about the court’s history contains documents from three precedent-setting cases: industrial relations, the banning of political parties and the environmental issues that influence our lives today. The display is part of the permanent exhibition Memory of a Nation in Canberra.

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Chinese-born Poon Gooey, a successful greengrocer from Horsham, Victoria, battled the Commonwealth Government to keep his family in Australia in the early 20th century, leaving a trail of records reflecting the attitudes of the White Australia policy.

Mrs Poon Gooey’s deportation story was highlighted in a paper given by National Archives staff member Dr Kate Bagnall in China recently, in which she described our extensive collection of Chinese migration and settlement records. You can see a showcase of the types of records held on Chinese Australians on our website.

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People from the Netherlands currently represent about 2.6% of the overseas-born population in Australia. About half of these migrants live in New South Wales. Our collection contains many records about Dutch settlement in Australia and Australia's relationship with the Netherlands during the 20th century.

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Artists of Steel – The Art of Australian Stamp Engraving highlights the work of highly skilful craftsmen who hand-engraved the steel dies of intaglio stamps.

Hunched over the die, an engraver had to cut the stamp design into the steel’s surface, making cuts as shallow as one 500th of a millimetre and engraving the design in reverse. On display in our Canberra gallery until 13 September.

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Speaking of stamps, our friends in the west got stuck on this one – is it West Australia or Western Australia? It seems the title caused quite a stir in 1903 when a postage stamp bore the words 'West Australia' instead of 'Western Australia'.

Correspondence between the offices of the WA Premier and the Prime Minister on this contentious matter, along with keeping the distinctive swan on the face of the stamps, is featured in this month's Find of the Month.

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The NSW country town of Deniliquin will host the National Archives’ touring photographic exhibition Summers Past: Golden Days in the Sun 1950–1970 until 27 September. This exhibition vividly reminds us of our enduring love affair with the sun and the sea. For those who grew up in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s, these photographs should gently stir memories of idyllic summers spent at the beach.

The images in Summers Past are selected from the Archives' vast photographic collection, mainly from Australian News and Information Bureau images – half a million photographs dating from the late 1940s to the early 1990s.

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When filing your precious papers you may encounter torn, ripped or brittle pages that need mending. Don't use ‘sticky’ tape as this material can cause greater damage to the paper record than the tear itself.

You can store the pages in special archival sleeves of polyester Mylar®, polypropylene or polyethylene which can be bought on the internet. Carefully insert the damaged paper record inside the protective sleeve. This will help the record to survive for many more years and still remain accessible to read. A good idea is to digitally scan valuable records so a copy can be used. 

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New identification procedures In National Archives' reading rooms around Australia will be implemented this month, increasing security for the collection items and researchers themselves.

In keeping with international trends, proof of identity will be needed by all researchers using our research facilities. The new registration procedures are among measures we are taking to ensure the availability and integrity of the collection for current and future researchers and to ensure that we have up-to-date contact details for researchers.

If you are a new researcher, or need a refresher, try our step-by-step guide to research at the National Archives.

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Congratulations to last month's winners, Susan Pedersen, NT, Stephanie Vanden Berg, QLD and Vicki Holland, NSW, with the answer 'Mr Squiggle'. They have each received a copy of Footprints: The Journey of Lucy and Percy Pepper.

The 20th and 24th correct entries received for this month's quirky quiz will each win a surprise pack of goodies from the National Archives.

You can find yourself stuck on me, I am something you might use regularly, but less-so than used-to-be. What am I?

Search here for a hint. Email us with your answer in the subject line and your postal address in the body of the email. View terms and conditions.

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