The National Archives of Australia has many records about First Australians.
To help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people find records about themselves or their family, we have published a number of books and research guides.
Please note that some of these publications include references to, and photographs of, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have passed away.
Based on a long-running exhibition, this book looks at how Aboriginal children of part descent were taken from their families and placed in 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.
You can read this book at National Archives research centres. You can find copies in other libraries using Trove.
This book traces the histories of nine Australian families using records in the National Archives' collection.
One of the stories focuses on the Cubillo family of the Northern Territory. It talks about the migration of Antonio from the Philippines and his marriage to Lily of the Larrakia people.
You can buy this book in our online shop.
Developed in consultation with the Pepper family of Victoria, this book describes the family's struggle to stay together at a time when laws and government policy defined who was ‘Aboriginal’ and who wasn't.
You can read this book online at the Public Record Office of Victoria (PROV) and at National Archives research centres.
We have created a number of research guides to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people research their family and history:
The Bringing Them Home name index is a list of names of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who appear in government files.
Staff at the National Archives can search the index for particular names. They can also search a list of World War I Indigenous servicemen.
The Koorie Records Unit promotes awareness about records relating to Aboriginal people held by the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) and the National Archives.
Our learning resources offer easy access to archival records for teachers and students, including a wealth of material about First Australians.