History: Australia

Primary sources are first hand evidence or records of the time. They may take the form of diaries, letters, interviews, manuscripts, newspapers, speeches, photographs, posters, pamphlets and official records. They can give you a first-hand account of what life was like during the event or time you're looking at, and show you what people thought and felt about the world.

One way to discover primary sources for a geographical area in UQ Library Search, use the subject term "sources" in the advanced search. For instance, using Australia and sources will find important works as:

• Modern Australia in documents
• A documentary history of Australia
• An Eyewitness history of Australia
• Such was life : select documents in Australian social history

Another way to discover primary sources is through our History: Australia database list. For instance, we have databases on:

• Early experiences in Australasia where you can find sources on the gold rush for instance,
• The First World War that, for example, showcases a range of propaganda materials,
• Empire Online that contains illustrations from Abel Tasman's journal among many other primary sources.

Secondary sources such as journal articles and textbooks are an excellent way to navigate your way to and find information about primary sources.  Bibliographic databases, those that do not have the full text and only have the index and abstract of the source, may still have links or other information to where you can access the source.

There are important, freely available resources online such as the Sydney Electronic Text and Image Service (SETIS) which has digitized versions of some important historical sources.  Other online sources for literary and historical text include:

• AustLit which provides information on creative and critical Australian literature works. It also hosts BlackWords.
• Text Queensland that contains source materials, books and theses relating to Queensland history.