Navy crew and ships records
Information about Navy crew and ships records in the National Archives.
Navy service records held in Melbourne
Information on navy service records held in Melbourne.
Navy administrative records held in Melbourne
Information on Navy administrative records held in Melbourne.
Royal Australian Navy service records
The National Archives holds a range of records about service in the Royal Australian Navy.
When the Navy sailed to cyclone-ravaged Darwin
Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin on Christmas Day 1974. The Royal Australian Navy instantly mounted a rescue effort.
Royal Australian Navy ship and crew records
The National Archives of Australia has records about members of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) who served as crew aboard RAN ships.
Deportation of migrant former navy officer, pearl diver
Newspaper article regarding the deportation of pearl-diver Samsudin bin Katib.
Lost at sea
Late November 1941 was a dark time for the Royal Australian Navy, with 2 major naval tragedies occurring within days of each other.
Opening day of the first Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting – Prime Minister Robert Menzies and John Gorton
Prime Minister Robert Menzies and Minister for the Navy John Gorton in the House of Representative Chamber, Old Parliament House, Canberra.
HMAS Sydney reported overdue – briefing paper
Dated 25 November 1941 and headed 'MOST SECRET', this document reports that the Royal Australian Navy light cruiser HMAS Sydney was four days overdue.
Researching war service
Find war service records, view them online and order copies of photographs and medals with the National Archives of Australia collection.
Sketching naval life: the war art of Rex Julius
See the sketches of Rex Julius, a little-known war artist commissioned by the Australian War Memorial and Australian Military History Section in 1944.
Digitising Second World War service records
We have digitised around 1,060,000 Second World War service records as part of our large-scale World War II Digitisation Project.
Girls on film
Photographs in the National Archives’ collection capture the faces of ordinary Australian women whose lives were about to change forever.
Films by and about Australia's defence agencies
The National Archives collection includes about 17,000 films created and collected by Australia's defence forces and departments responsible for related functions, including the Department of Veterans' Affairs.
Boer war to Vietnam
The National Archives holds records relating to every conflict Australia was involved in from 1899 to 1975.
The sinking of HMAS Sydney
This fact sheet provides information on National Archives records relating to the sinking of HMAS Sydney.
Defence and war service records
Our collection of records about Australia's defence and war efforts will help you learn about your family's war history and support your academic research.
New South Wales
We are open to the public. Bookings are required to visit.
History of Australian intelligence and security
An outline of the history of the various Australian intelligence and security services, including links to some of our records about these agencies.
