The National Library holds a rich and diverse range of library materials on the Pacific region, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Watercolour painting of a Hawaiian man

A man of the Sandwich Islands with his helmet

The Rev. John Williams collection of 30 large watercolours relative to the South Seas
1925 map of pacific islands

Map of British possessions in the Pacific

Atlas of the British Empire: reproduced from the original made for Her Majesty Queen Mary's Doll's House, 1925.
A group of men performing a traditional dance

Independence Day Celebration Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 1975

Part of the Spencer collection of slides of Papua New Guinea, 1953-1978.

The strength of the Library’s Pacific collections reflects Australia's strong historic and continuing connections with the region. The collections include:

  • Printed materials - thousands of books, newspapers and journals ranging from the earliest accounts of the Pacific to contemporary publications
  • Manuscripts - papers of many Australians who were involved, personally or professionally, with the Pacific and Papua New Guinea. Supplemented by microfilmed materials from the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau (PMB) and the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) series.
  • Pictures - paintings and photographs dating from the earliest voyages to the present day. Many have been digitised
  • Maps - rare and beautiful early maps as well as recent material
  • Archived websites - selected by the Library and hosted on the Internet Archive. Mostly government or research sites around a theme, for example Papua New Guinea Elections 2007.

Highlights

Explore our Pacific treasures by viewing the highlights below:

The National Library of Australia acknowledges Australia’s First Nations Peoples – the First Australians – as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land and gives respect to the Elders – past and present – and through them to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Cultural Notification

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website contains a range of material which may be considered culturally sensitive including the records of people who have passed away.

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