Guides: Aboriginal Cultures and Australian Society: History and Biography

Online resources

Teaching Australian history

Example teaching resources

National Museum of Australia - Education: Indigenous Australia: resources
National Archives of Australia - Vrroom - 'Easy access to archival records for teachers and students'
Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) - Aboriginal Cultural Studies

Spotlight on: primary sources online - National Archives of Australia

The NAA has made a selection of archival material available for online viewing.

To access click a link below > select the hyperlinked number next to Items in this series on RecordSearch > Select the Digitised item pages icon next to the item of interest > use the Page arrows to move through the document.

Document series	Examples of contents
Correspondence files, Patrol Officer, Alice Springs and Jay Creek 1941-42	correspondence relating to the condition and requirements of the Jay Creek Reserve 1936 annual report of the Australian Aborigines' League letter seeking clarification on the action that could be taken 'where a European father of a half-caste child is known to the Branch'
Correspondence files, Native Affairs Branch (Northern Territory) 1949-1952	letters granting permission for marriages between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people statements made by those involved in an 'assault' reports on Missions (e.g. Roper River)

History resources

Biographical information

There are a range of sources available with biographical information of Aboriginal individuals.

Tips

Is the person known by other names? Eg, Mick Dodson, Michael Dodson
Could a resource on a particular community/topic contain a section on the individual? e.g "Point Pearce"
Are there multiple people with the same name? If so, try combining their name with other terms eg, Aboriginal, Indigenous, Australia or with their profession or achievements.

Examples of biographies from the collection

In our own right: black Australian nurses' stories

Kangkushot the new life of Nyamal Lawman Peter Coppin

Isabel Flick: The many lives of an extraordinary Aboriginal woman

The Australian Dictionary of Biography is Australia's pre-eminent dictionary of national biography and features concise and informative descriptions of the lives of significant persons in Australian history.

Find biographical information for individuals deceased during or prior to the 1980s, including:

Gladys Elphick
William (Bill) Ferguson
Pearl (Gambanyi) Gibbs
Herbert (Bert) Groves

Albert (Elea) Namatjira
David Unaipon
Dhakiyaar Wirrpanda

AustLit

Access AustLit the resource for Australian literature

Provides information about Australian authors and their work, including entries for over 4,500 Aboriginal Australians and approximately 160 Torres Strait Islanders. Covers a broad variety of literary forms (e.g. autobiography, poetry, interview, short story, novel, essay, lyric/song).

Includes information such as:

other names
place and date of birth
heritage
past and current activities
achievements and awards
lists of works by and about the author, including biographies and autobiographies

AustLit allows you to refine your search in a number of ways including language, gender, heritage, year of birth, place of birth and type/form/genre of work.

Using AustLit - one example:

In the box Person/Organisation select Personal details
choose Gender: Female
in the Heritage field type: Aboriginal Ngarrindjeri people
in the box Work select Form/Genre/Type
choose either autobiogaphy or biography
Search
select the title of a work until you see Library holdings

If you would like to access a work listed in AustLit and not held at UniSA Library contact the contact Ask the Library