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FOUND: State library of new south wales - What They Never Told You

More than 2 million Indigenous people lived in Australia in 1788: new research

Content warning: This article discusses mass death, epidemics, frontier violence, and the structural violence experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Conversation · Sep 15

Australia once enshrined white superiority. These 10 trailblazers helped shift our attitudes to race

In early 20th century Australia, Indigenous people were denied citizenship and the nation had a racially exclusive immigration policy. Most people not only accepted the “White Australia” policy but openly identified with its assumption of white supremacy. Popular culture was replete with overtly racist terms and images.

The Conversation · Jan 25

The Dixson family were great Australian philanthropists, but their wealth was built on slave labour

The barque Glenswilly arrived in Sydney Harbour from Greenock, outside Glasgow, on October 29 1839. Among the new arrivals were Hugh Dixson, his wife Helen, and their infant son, also named Hugh.

The Conversation · Oct 1, 2025

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Sydney Writers Festival will program year-round, partnering with State Library of NSW. Is this ‘Sydney’s Wheeler Centre’?

Sydney is gaining on Melbourne’s long lead as a literary city, with a new partnership between Sydney Writers’ Festival and the State Library of New South Wales. This year-round program of literary events, programmed by the festival (with many hosted by the library) presents a serious injection into Sydney’s literary…

The Conversation · Jul 29, 2025

Remembering Simon Townsend as a conscientious objector and fearless anti-Vietnam War activist

Journalist Simon Townsend has died aged 79 only a few months after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. A statement released by his family reported “In his final days, Simon was surrounded by his family and a mix of journalists, writers, actors, political activists and Italians”.

The Conversation · Jan 16, 2025

The Lindsays: how 10 siblings from the 19th century shaped Australian art and identity

Most Australians have heard of Norman Lindsay’s fantastical children’s book The Magic Pudding (1918).

The Conversation · Aug 7, 2024

Powerhouse Museum acquires David Jones’ archive, brimming with forgotten stories of Australia’s past

David Jones is donating its archive to Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, it has been announced today. It is a timely reminder of the significance of “DJs”, Australia’s oldest department store, to the development of modern Australia.

The Conversation · Jul 30, 2024

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Identity and resilience: Aboriginal performers have been singing up the streets of Sydney for NAIDOC week since 1959

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people.

The Conversation · Jul 10, 2024

Bennelong and Phillip: wrestling with our historical assumptions through the entangled lives of two very different men

Despite the inherent chance and coincidence of Australian history, there’s a certain sense of inevitability when we trace our national narrative in hindsight. The sequence of chapters in our textbooks and syllabuses seems logical and coherent. Colonisation follows European imperialism and exploration. Suffrage follows the discovery of gold. Federation is…

The Conversation · Nov 1, 2023

From badges to ball gowns: how fashion took centre-stage in the 1967 and 2023 referendums

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. This story also contains examples of outdated language

The Conversation · Sep 5, 2023

Illegal Sydney warehouse parties, lives lost to AIDS, and gay liberation: photographer William Yang captured it all

Review: William Yang’s Sydneyphiles Reimagined, State Library of New South Wales.

The Conversation · Feb 20, 2023

Cartoon detectives: how Australia's most famous cartoon was lost and found – twice

A man hangs, precariously, high above the street, holding onto the girder of an unfinished skyscraper. Around his ankles, a second man holds on for dear life.

The Conversation · Feb 14, 2023

Is there a 'right to disobey’? From the Vietnam War to today's climate protests

One of the first moves of the newly elected Whitlam Labour government in December 1972 was to free seven men imprisoned for their beliefs. Their crime had been refusal to comply with the National Service Act, a so-called “lottery of death” that sent some 15,300 young Australians to fight in…

The Conversation · Dec 25, 2022

'A human being, not just mum': the women's liberationists who fought for the rights of mothers and children

Mother’s Day has long been exploited for commercial and political gain. This year, again, my inbox is filled with gift ideas to “make mum smile”. With the federal election looming, we can expect candidates to make the most of this weekend to demonstrate their pro-family credentials.

The Conversation · May 6, 2022

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