Where do the inscriptions on the Australian Register come from?

The inscriptions on the Australian Register come from libraries, archives, museums and universities, and from other organisations that have custody of documentary heritage collections. Individuals may also nominate documentary heritage to the register.

Libraries represented in the Australian Register include the National Library of Australia, State Library of New South Wales, Northern Territory Library, State Library of Queensland, State Library of South Australia, State Library of Victoria, State Library of Western Australia, and Broken Hill City Library. University libraries – the Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne, and the Fryer Library, University of Queensland – also have documentary heritage inscribed in the Register.

Archives – including audiovisual and university archives – have initiated many Australian Register inscriptions. These archives include the National Archives of Australia, National Film and Sound Archive, Noel Butlin Archives Centre in The Australian National University, Public Record Office Victoria, Queensland State Archives, State Records New South Wales, State Records of South Australia, State Records Office of Western Australia, Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office, and the University of Melbourne Archives.

Indigenous scholar and author Dr Jared Thomas (left) presents a certificate of inscription for the John Meredith Folklore Collection to Kevin Bradley of the National Library of Australia at a ceremony in the Mortlock Chamber, State Library of South Australia, in May 2013.

Photo: Jenny Scott, State Library of South Australia

Museums are institutions that collect, display and interpret objects, and they also hold significant documentary heritage collections. Museums have a considerable presence in the Australian Register, particularly but not exclusively in relation to Indigenous Australian documentary heritage. Museums and museum organisations with documentary heritage collections on the Register include the Australian War Memorial, the Berndt Museum of Anthropology in the University of Western Australia, History South Australia, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse Museum), Museum Victoria, National Gallery of Australia, and the South Australian Museum. The Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts in Hobart is also included in this grouping.

Universities, as well as university libraries mentioned above, are also well represented in the Australian Register, with inscribed documentary heritage from The University of Adelaide, The Australian National University, James Cook University, Townsville, The University of Melbourne, The University of Newcastle, The University of Sydney and The University of Wollongong. A research institute for Indigenous Australian matters with strong links to the university sector, the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), falls naturally into this group.

There are a number of organisations and governmental entities who do not fit into any of the above groups, but who do maintain significant documentary heritage collections as part of their mission. These include the Parliament of Australia, the Office of the Governor-General, the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, the High Court of Australia, the City of Adelaide Civic Collection, and Land and Property Information (LPI) of the New South Wales Government.