Highly Recommended Victorian, Australian and International
‘History Providers’ to Support and Inspire Accurate, Creative and Engaging Research, Writing or Other Forms of Presenting
Australia’s History
Rosalie Triolo
2025
This list is far from exhaustive
but the following are outstanding local or international providers of ‘original form’ or ‘digitised’ primary and/or secondary sources.
Most provide ‘free’ some degree of background research to accompany their sources or other brief advice ‘free’.
Google search for the current websites. Note that names often change … thus, try similar names if unsuccessful at first.
Subscribe to e-subscriptions also often ‘free’, and perhaps pay
for further member access and support.
As needs arise, think of other government departments, galleries, libraries, archives, museums, academic repositories (GLAMAs), historical societies and field-site settings, and subscribe to them or visit where possible.
ABC Retrofocus
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Christian Church Histories
Australian Dictionary of Biography
Australian Garden History Society
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Australian Living Peace Museum
Australian Museum (NSW – different to the National Museum of Australia, ACT, below)
Australian National Museum of Education
Australian National Surfing Museum
Australian Performing Arts Collection
Australian Society for the Study of Labour History
Australian Society for Sports History
Australian Sports Museum
Australian Style Manual
Australian War Memorial
Australian Women’s Register
Bodleian Libraries (UK)
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC – UK)
British Library (UK) – includes British Newspaper Archives
British Museum (UK)
Cable News Network (CNN – USA)
Chinese Museum (Vic)
Creative Victoria
CSIROpedia
Culture Victoria
Department of Veterans’ Affairs Anzac Portal/Commemorations – and guides, eg oral history …
Dictionary of Educational History in Australia and New Zealand
Discover Tasmania (Tas)
Edwin Fox Ship and Visitor Centre (NZ) – last surviving convict transport worldwide
Encyclopedia Britannica (UK)
English Heritage (UK)
Eureka Centre (Vic)
Family History Connections (Vic)
Federation of Australian Historical Societies
Freebmd (UK) – births, deaths, marriages
Freecen (UK) – census records
Freereg (UK) – churches
Genealogical Society of Victoria – and any State/Territory equivalents …
Getty Museum (USA)
Hellenic Museum (Vic)
Immigration Museum (Vic) – especially Origins – Census, Glossary and Countries
Imperial War Museum (UK)
Islamic Museum (Vic)
Jewish Holocaust Centre (Vic)
Jewish Museum of Australia
Koorie Heritage Trust (Vic)
Libraries Tasmania
Libraries Northern Ireland (UK)
Library of Congress (US)
Local historical societies … … so, so many, nationally …
Local libraries … …
Louvre (France)
Macquarie Dictionary (online)
Mary Evans Picture Library (UK)
Melbourne Museum (Vic)
Museo Italiano (Vic)
Museum of Australian Democracy (ACT)
Museum India (Vic)
Museums of History New South Wales
National Alpine Museum of Australia
National Archives of the United Kingdom (UK)
National Archives of Australia – and all State/Territory office equivalents …
National Capital Educational Tourism Project (ACT)
National Council of Women Australia
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery, London (UK)
National Gallery of Victoria
National Geographic (USA)
National Library of Australia (Canberra): library card membership for databases Australia-wide, as well as free ‘Trove’ and recently-updated ‘Research Guides’
National Library of Ireland (Eire)
National Library of New Zealand (NZ): includes Papers Past (a NZ free ‘Trove’ equivalent)
National Maritime Museum (UK)
National Museum of Australia
National Portrait Gallery
National Trust of Australia
National Trust of the United Kingdom (UK)
NewsBank (USA & Canada)
Oral History Victoria – and any State/Territory equivalents …
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (UK)
Parks Victoria
Parliament House Victoria
Parliamentary Education Office (ACT)
Powerhouse Museum (Sydney)
Prahran Mechanics’ Institute Library (Vic) – excellent library of Australiana …
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS – USA)
Public Record Office Victoria – and any State/Territory equivalents …
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (Tas)
Royal Historical Society of Victoria – and all State/Territory equivalents …
Royal Society of Victoria – and all State/Territory equivalents …
Royal United Services Institute Library (Victoria Barracks) – excellent military library …
Reconciliation Australia
Science Museum Group (multiple science and history museum types) (UK)
Scienceworks
Shrine of Remembrance (Vic)
Smithsonian Institute (USA)
Sovereign Hill (Vic)
Sport Australia
State Library of Victoria – and all State/Territory equivalents …
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (Tas)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA)
Theatre Heritage Australia
Victoria and Albert Museum (UK)
Victoria Police Museum (Vic)
Victorian Collections – and any State/Territory equivalents that host resource locations
Visit Victoria – and any State/Territory equivalents … visit such websites but go to your people’s places ‘in person’ as much as possible for a possibly more vivid experience of their lives, and
visit elsewhere in Australia and overseas – no website for this – create your own experiences and enjoy the experience of doing so!