State Archives collection

Men in work aprons stand in a workshop surrounded by tables stacked with large books
On This Day

14 Dec 1840 - Government Printer appointed

John Kitchen was appointed as the first government printer in the newly established Government Printing Office

On This Day

6 Nov 1935 - Charles Kingsford Smith flight

On 6 November 1935 Charles Kingsford Smith took off in his plane, the Lady Southern Cross, from Britain in a record breaking attempt to fly to Australia. Kingsford Smith, his co-pilot J.T. Pethybridge and the plane were never seen again

A locket found in an intestate file

A rare find in the archives is this small locket, found among the intestate case papers of Charles Thompson Dunbar

School children's gathering at Sydney Cricket Ground, Royal Visit 1954

A wedding present for Princess Elizabeth

The engagement of Princess Elizabeth to Lt Philip Mountbatten was officially announced on 9th July 1947. By the end of August, discussions were underway within the NSW Government as to a suitable wedding present for Princess Elizabeth

Aboriginal resources: an overview of records

A brief overview of the State archives that document the NSW government's interaction with Aboriginal people from 1788 until today

Words overlaying image.

About the exhibition: A thousand words

An innovative new exhibition invites the public to become the curator, sharing their responses to historical photographs from two of Australia’s richest and most significant collections

Still from the educational film Alice in Blunderland

Alice in Blunderland - road safety, 1947

An educational road safety film produced by the Road Safety Council of NSW

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Archives behind the scenes - bubonic plague

Did you know there was an outbreak of plague, in Sydney, at The Rocks, in 1900?